Akame Ga Ed
by Theforthed
Summary: Ed has always been one to do the most ridiculous things such as break the fourth wall/reality itself. But the Eds soon discover that Eds unnatural "abilities" can go much further than just distorting reality, but also crossing over into other realities. One day, they find themselves stuck in a completely different media. How will they return? And who are these assassins they meet?
1. Ch1: Kill The Odds of a Successful Scam

Chapter 1: Kill the Odds of a Successful Scam

**It was another ordinary summer day in the sub-urban cul-de-sac located in a town known by the name of Peach-Creek. It was high noon as three young teenage boys stood in the driveway of a house constructing some sort of stand. One of the boys was sitting in a chair behind the stand balancing what looked to be a jar on his index finger. He was short in stature and wore a yellow shirt with a navy blue collar with a scarlet stripe running down the right side of it and baggy blue jeans. He kicked up his feet onto the counter and allowed his red shoes to rest on the stand. In this "media", he didn't have much noticeable hair. Only three giant strands on top of his head that waves towards the back of his head.**

"Uuuggghhh. Hey Edd? Where's Ed? He's supposed to be back here with the ice his parents said he could have fifteen minutes ago!" The short boy asked in an irritated tone. "This snow cone scam isn't supposed to run itself y'know."

**A second boy who wore a dark orange short sleeve shirt and violet shorts looked at him. He had red socks that came up to his knee caps. He also wore some sort of black snow cap or beanie on his head. Three strands of black hair stuck out from the back of his hat.**

"Honestly Eddy, I'm kind of busy at the moment. If you're so worried about him, why not go search yourself? It wouldn't kill you to look for him yourself you know."

**Eddy grunted before getting out of the chair and storming up to the front door to go inside the house and check on Ed**

"Fine. I wouldn't be surprised if his stupid sister Sarah is making him do stuff for her again. That spoiled rotten loud mouth..." **He grumbled before opening the front door to Eds house and walked in searching for his friend.** "Hey lummox! Are you still alive!? The kids will be flocking to us any minute! We need the ice out here! Pronto!"

**Eddy's question was answered with random household objects whizzing past his head and crashing into the wall behind him. Eddy looked at what in this "media" appeared to be a tall teen with a green jacket over top of a striped red and white shirt with long, baggy blue sweatpants. He appeared to have a uni-brow and very short hair.**

"Hey Eddy, is ice kept under the sink?"** The boy asked him. Eddy simply sighed before walking over to him and grabbing his companion by the ear and dragging him over to the refrigerator before opening the freezer shoving his face into the freezer.**

**"**Ed, get the ice and HURRY UP!" **Eddy screamed in his friends ear as he pointed to the gigantic bag of ice in the freezer. The boy known as Ed responded with his trademark stupid smile before obediently grabbing the bag of ice with both hands and trying to tug it out of the freezer. Eddy had returned back outside to check on Edd and how progress was coming along for his scam.**

"So Double D, is the snow cone machine ready yet? Are we in business?"** Eddy asked rubbing his hands together with a grin on his face hoping for a positive response**

"As soon as Ed brings the ice out, our Ed-laskan snow cone project will be up and open for the public Eddy~!" **Edd replied wiping his forehead off with a white rag as Ed could now be seen in the background. He was still struggling with the large bag of said ice. By now, the bag was out of the freezer, but it was stuck in the doorway. Ed continued to tug and yank at the bag. It began to stretch the size of the doorway as he did so. After a few seconds of extra effort, the bag finally tumbled out of the doorway and rolled onto Ed.**

"Ice is ready for grinding Eddy!" **Ed shouted as he stood up hauling the massive bag over his head with surprisingly little effort.**

"Good lord Ed! How much...-a-are you sure it's okay with your parents that we use all of this ice!?" **Edd asked in amazement surprised by the sheer size of the bag**

"...Wow. That's gonna be lot of snow cones...WE'LL BE SUPER RICH!" **Eddy added in with dollar symbols in his eyes **

"Oh yeah guys! My parents told me that if they didn't use all of the ice, we get to use all of it!" **Ed said opening the bag of ice as Edd walked over to the stand and placed the snow cone machine on the table.** **Ed set the bag of ice next to the snow cone stand and Eddy then grabbed a mega phone and began shouting advertising his scam**

"Works for me! STEP RIGHT UP LADIES AND GENTS! GET YOUR ED-LASKAN SNOW CONES HERE! ONLY TWENTY-FIVE CENTS!" **Eddy shouted out looking around expecting the neighborhood kids to flock to him throwing their money at him. An hour rolled by and just his luck, there were no customers to be spotted anywhere. **

**By now, half of the bag of ice had melted. Edd(or Eddward) and Ed had already begun making snow cones for themselves at this point. Eddy on the other hand was severely ticked off due to the lack of attention his scam was getting as well as sitting in the sweltering heat. He waited a good fifteen more minutes before finally speaking up.**

**"**WHERE THE HECK IS EVERYBODY!?**" Eddy blurted out. After sitting in the hot sun for an hour, he had lost all patience.**

"Well, that proves how little you actually listen to what I say, Eddy." **Edd replied nearly dropping his snow-cone from the sudden outburst.** "I told you before, they're all gone off to that summer camp the school was advertising before we got out for summer break a few days ago. They don't come back until six o'clock today." **Edd responded annoyed at the realization his friend pays little to no attention to what he says**

**Eddy let out a loud sigh before getting out of his chair and walking towards the house.** "Fffffffff. Fine. Let's go inside and watch something. I'm tired of all this heat." **Eddy grumbled as he stormed off inside dragging the now half water/half ice bag into the house to re-freeze it as Edd and Ed followed**

* * *

**Once inside...**

**Ed, Edd, and Eddy playfully ran down the stairwell into the basement (Or Ed's room. Whichever one you prefer) and flopped into Eds chair. They turned on Ed's television to relax for the time being. A commercial played advertising the annual Peach-Creek Technology fair. **

"Hey Double D, I just remembered. You're part of that Peach-Creek science fair aren't ya'? How are those projects you're working on for coming along? I mean, not that it really matters what you make. You're pretty much always in the top three."** Eddy asked grabbing the T.V. remote aiming it towards Eds television as he began flipping through the channels**

"Oh! Thank you for reminding me Eddy. And yes, I am partaking in the event."** Edd replied sitting next to him as he reached under his hat and pulled out the aforementioned projects. In the eyes of Ed and Eddy, they appeared to be much more high tech than the normal apparatuses Edd builds, but that's usually because he makes them out of everyday house-hold appliances. This time was different. There were three projects that he pulled from his hat. Each of them looked like a pair of high tech gloves that neither Ed, or Eddy could have imagined to see in their lifetime. **

"Holy cow Sock Head! You made these!?" **Eddy asked taking a pair for himself and dangled them in front of his face attempting to examine them**

"I finished them about two days ago. I haven't found the time to test them out yet. They're part of a new experiment I'm trying out as per request from the contest entry rules." **Edd explained.**

"Gentlemen, what you are holding in your very own two hands are actually weapons. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about constructing such apparatuses however. I've never actually built, nor attempted to build any weaponry before." **Edd replied he then switched his attention to the TV and noted Eddy to flip a few channels backwards, for their favorite movie: "Fish Bowl 3" was playing on TV**

"Relax will ya' Edd? You're the greatest kid genius I know. You've got this contest in the bag!"** Eddy replied slipping one of the three pairs of gloves on. **"So, uh...how do these things work?" **he asked wiggling his fingers around. He did not know that the gloves were reflex controlled. Before Edd could explain how to properly use them, nor actually look away from the television for that matter, Eddy had accidentally triggered the gloved to literally materialize a weapon right in his hand. Within a few seconds, a giant, metallic, buzz saw blade appeared in his right hand. The sight of it scared him to the point of dropping it onto the floor and screaming.**

"Ah. It appears The Blade Gloves seem to function properly." **Edd said picking up the blade that fell onto the floor**. "Even though these gloves are complete, they're really just experimental prototypes right now. I'm surprised they function properly like a finished product..." **Edd said as he slipped on a pair of gloves.** "The weapons that the gloves summon are based off of whatever I could find around my basement at the time. Eddy, you are currently wearing what I've labeled "The Blade Gloves". I am wearing gloves that allow me to wield what I find to be a unique weapon based off of an old video game I once played."

**With a flick of his wrist, he materialized what appeared to be a giant V shaped object. **

"These are what I call "The Boomerang Gloves" gentlemen. With my precise aim and calculative mind, I think this weapon suits me well~" **he said before noticing Eddy was being electrocuted by something, or someone**

"Zappity Zap Zap Double D!" **Ed cried cheerfully as he wore the last pair of gloves.**

"Yes Ed. Zap indeed. My Elec gloves are capable of delivering and shooting high voltage beams of electricity. They're good for both long distance and close combat~"** Edd explained nervously as he got up out of the chair trying to avoid getting shocked by Ed all the while dragging Eddy away to prevent him from being harmed any further.**

"These are so cool Double D!" **Ed cheered as a chaotic look flashed in his eyes.** "I AM ED! THUNDER WARRIOR AND DEFENDER OF ALL TOAST THAT IS BUTTERED!" **Ed shouted as he began running around his room firing beams of electricity everywhere laughing maniacally. **

**Edd had dragged Eddy off into Eds bathroom and dunked his head in Eds gravy bathtub trying to bring Eddy back to consciousness. Seconds after, muffled screams from Eddy could be heard underneath the gravy as he pulled his head out of the tub gasping for air.**

"HUH!? WHA!? WHERE-..."** Eddy panicked before turning his attention to the bathtub and screaming in disgust. He then turned his attention to the bathroom door looking at all of the chaos going on in Eds room.**

"Grrrrrrr. Why that no brained, gravy sucking...LET ME AT HIM!" **Eddy said as he rushed back out of the restroom attempting to beat up Ed only to be greeted happily by the lovable oaf and knocked back into the bathroom by a beam of electricity**

"Are you okay Eddy!?" **Edd asked scrambling over to him keeping his head low trying to avoid getting shocked**

"Going up on a Tuesday Double D~" **Eddy replied as he watched the imaginary stars in orbit around his head**

**Edd looked back and out towards the bathroom door to notice that at some point between Eddy's return flight into the restroom, and the time it took for him to turn his head just then, that Ed had settled down. Edd decided to take a quick look out of the doorway. He was prepared to duck his head back into the restroom. He stuck his head out of the door to find Ed positioned next to his bed staring at the wall. Edd fixed his attention to where Ed was staring, and what he saw caught him completely off guard. The wall looked completely distorted. But no, there was something more to that. Eds entire wall had started twisting and swirling. If this wasn't a first time occurrence, Edd would've freaked out.**

"Ed, you've somehow managed to brake reality...again." **Edd sighed before walking up to him and taking his Elec Gloves off of Eds hands. **

"How many times must I warn you? We don't know what happens whenever you manage to mess with the space-time continuum. You might wind up doing something that could seriously hurt you."** Edd stated as he looked over at the wall with interest. **

"Still, as many times as you- or, well, the three of us for that matter, have messed with the fabric of reality, we've always stayed away from these...portals."

"Uurk. Yo Double D. You might wanna turn the power down on those gloves." **Eddy said staggering out of the bathroom.** "I think I almost- OH COME ON! AGAIN ED!?" **Eddy complained now catching glimpse of the 'portal'.**

"Eddy please!"** Edd responded looking back at him.** "You know he literally can't control when this happens most of the time!"

"Yeah. But it's happening more often Double D! I'm telling ya', something ain't right about this. Something's bound to happen sooner or later."** Eddy argued**

"I'll admit Eddy. I agree with you on your theory that if we keep disturbing the space-time continuum that we may accidentally trigger...erm...some sort of event. But we can't be so quick to blame each other for these occurrences when we don't purposely mean to. Things could be a lot worse if they wanted to." **Edd argued back. Fortunately, Eddy found Edd's last statement to be true enough for him as he peered over his shoulder and caught Ed examining the portal for himself. The next thing he knew, Ed had decided to do something that he thought might have been his biggest act of stupidity yet. That something was him sticking his head through the portal.**

"Uh, sockhead? On a scale from one to ten, how bad is that?" **Eddy asked pointing at his friend**

"What are you talking about E-"** Edd managed to speak before a horror stricken look crossed his face **"OH MY LORD! ED! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

**Muffled laughs could be heard through the portal as Ed now had half of his body through. Edd and Eddy rushed onto the bed and tried to pull Ed back only for him to have pulled himself out of the portal and grab his friends.**

"Double D! Eddy! You gotta see this!"** their mono-brow friend said with excitement in his tone. Ed then, much to Edd and Eddy's dismay, pulled them through the portal before him. Edd and Eddy screamed in complete fear. This was definitely not something either of them had wanted to do. Ed them jumped in after them shouting "Cannon Ball" as he entered. **

**The three of them were now in an area they couldn't even begin to describe. They felt weightless. The entrance to the portal had vanished behind them, not that it mattered to them at the moment. They were too busy screaming their lungs out at the moment. Edd and Eddy screaming in horror, while Ed screamed with joy. Just as the three managed to hug each other, their consciousness slipped from their minds as a blinding white light filled their vision. The last thing any of them felt was their bodies plummeting into something hard. They would soon wake up to find the world around them completely changed. **

**This was only the start of many things to come.**

**((Ummmm. Yeah. Not that good of a chapter. Next Chapter will definitely be more bearable to read. I'll re-edit this chapter when I find a better layout))**


	2. Ch2: Kill The Darkness (Ed ver)

Chapter 2: Kill The Darkness (Ed ver.)

* * *

Wind was gently blowing. It gently rustled the trees in the forest. The sun peered through the leaves swaying in the wind. The last thing Ed, Edd, and Eddy remembered was being in Ed's room in the basement of his house. Ed broke reality again and a portal opened up. As put in the words of Eddward: they thought that they were finally "paying the price for all the times they had messed with the space-time continuum". Now their unconscious bodies lay in a forest unknown to their location. It would take them a few minutes for one of them to finally wake up.

"Ow. Dear heaven...what happened?" Edd asked...or at least the boy looked like Edd. In this 'media', the boy had the same attire as Edd, however, his arms seemed fuller than normal. His skin was smooth and if one were to look at him, his eyes were much bigger. His golden yellow eyes squinted in the sunlight that peered through the trees. Blonde pieces of hair hang out from under his black beanie hat. The three strands in the back of his hair remained black however. Eddward rubbed his eyes and groaned as he stretched. The groaning awoke another 'familiar' face that happened to be laying right next to him.

"Ahahahahaha. My head feels funny~" Ed said as he sat up yawning. He also kept the same attire, however, his 'media' looked different. His hair not only had changed color, but was now looked completely different. It was no longer short and stub like. It was spiky looking and was now a dark scarlet hue. His uni-brow was gone, and instead of his traditional yellow skin, it was now tan and caked with dirt in a few places. His eyes were larger and scarlet, like his hair.

Ed and Edd exchanged looked and stared at each other for a few seconds before screaming at the tops of their lungs. Their loud shrieks awoke and scared the third body that was laying unconscious moments ago.

"WHA!? HUH!? WHO'S THERE!?" Eddy shouted as he jumped a few inches off of the ground. As you could guess, Eddy's look had also changed. In this 'media', he kept his clothing, but his hair was different. Instead of only the usual notable 3 strands, his hair was long, spiky, and navy blue. His three strands were larger and much more distinct. His big, navy blue eyes looked around in fear as he took in his surroundings. He then caught a glimpse of his friends and froze with fear.

"Double D...please tell me this is just a dream. Tell me you know what's happening. Tell me..." Eddy began begging before almost all at once, he remembered how everything happened. He remembered the portal appearing on Eds wall. All because _**he **_accidentally broke reality again.

"Tell me why I shouldn't bash Ed's skull in Double D..." Eddy said as he stood up. A dark look crossed his face as he turned towards Ed. Ed looked back at his new redesigned friend and smiled. All he could manage to say was "Hi Eddy!" before Eddy lunged at his friend grabbing his head and began to repeatedly bash his skull into the ground. Double D watched in horror as his friend was on top of Ed beating the daylight out of him. Edd was expecting Ed to do the usual: laugh his head off while he continued to beat him up. But this was different. Between the slams of Eds face into the grass, he heard Ed shouting something he didn't expect by a long shot.

"AAHHH! EDDY! STOP! IT HURTS!" Ed shouted as his face was being smashed into the ground repeatedly. Edd rushed over to him and grabbed Eddy's arms making him let go of Eds head.

"EDDY! PLEASE STOP THIS! YOU'RE REALLY HURTING HIM!" Edd shouted trying to quell his short stature friend

"STAY OUT AND SHUT UP WILL YA SOCK HEAD!? BESIDES, HE'S ENJOY-" Eddy managed to say before getting caught off guard by an unfamiliar sound. He heard the sobbing of his scarlet haired friend beneath him.

"...Wait...Ed...did..did you say it hurt?" Eddy asked looking down at his friend who still had his face down in the dirt. Ed sat up and weakly managed to shrug Eddy off of him. He turned and looked at Eddy. Blood was running down his forehead and face as he stared at him with tears in his eyes. Between sniffles, he managed to say three words

"I **sob **I'm s-sorry Eddy..." Ed said as he looked at him with sorrow in his eyes. Edd cupped his hands over his mouth as his eyes widened in horror at the sight of his kind hearted friend bleeding heavily. Eddy were horrified at the sight. Eddy's eyes widened as he quickly scurried away from him, looking at the boy he had just unleashed his fury upon. He them looked down at his hands. They were covered in his blood. Not a lot, but enough for Eddy to both immediately and heavily regret what he had just done.

"D-Double D...Ed..w-what did I j-just do!?" Eddy asked as he looked at them. Edd quickly reached under his hat and managed to pull out a small first aid kit. He opened it and pulled out a roll of bandages. He unraveled it and began wrapping it around Eds forehead. All the while, his hands were trembling.

"Eddy...I have not the slightest idea what is going on, but we need to get back home." Edd replied finishing up on Eds injuries and putting the kit back under his hat. "And we need to get back before things can get any worse..."

As if on cue, a loud roar filled the air. It startled the birds residing in the trees causing them to fly off. If the Eds were birds, they too would have taken flight to safety. The three could only huddle together and shiver in fear wondering what could have emitted such a noise. Then, hardly noticeable at first, the ground began to tremble. The intensity began to pick up after a few seconds. Something was coming there way, and it was big. Out of the three of them, it was Edd who finally managed to muster up the guts to snap out of the trance of fear and to take shelter in the trees.

In almost world record time, Eddy had scrambled up the tree trunk and clenched onto the branch. Edd helped Ed up the tree before finally climbing up himself. The rumbling intensified evermore. Suddenly, they could finally see it. Something was moving underground. Whatever it was, it was big, and it was kicking up the ground above it as it traveled. They watched it tunnel beneath were they once stood before it completely passed them by and soon faded out of view. The three sighed and dropped out of the tree.

"Okay Double D. I'm begging to know now. What's the plan this time?" Eddy asked looking at the chunks of earth that had been kicked up from whatever was tunneling a few seconds before

"PARDON!?" Edd replied with an expression of shock on his face. "We just entered what is possibly a completely new dimension, you beat up Ed, and you expect me to have come up with a plan within that time frame!?"

"Easy Double D. I know one things for sure, and that's that we can't stay here." Eddy replied

"Well, that's a good lead." Edd replied as he massaged his temples. If one thing hadn't changed from the crossover into this new dimension, it was that he was the one who had to come up with the plan to get the three of them out of this predicament. Now trying to come up with some kind of idea, he began to speak.

"Okay...assuming this new world is anything like ours, there must be civilization." Edd began

"Yeah. In case you haven't noticed, were in the middle of nowhere, Sockhead." Eddy replied

"If you'd let me finish..." Edd replied "What we need to look for is some kind of sign that this land has been traversed. If we do, we may be able to find civilization before nightfall. In other words, we need to find a road. If we follow it, we might find our way to a city, or possibly come into contact with other humans...that is, assuming there are humans here.." Edd finished

"Sounds good to me!" Eddy replied. "Let's go find that-" Eddy was about to say before he looked around and noticed that there were only two of them.

"Uhhhhh, Double D? Ed was here a second ago wasn't he?" Eddy asked worried about where their scarlet haired friend wandered off to

"Oh dear...ED! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Edd shouted trying to locate him by hoping he would respond alerting them to his location. Sure enough, it worked. They were answered with a jolly voice that shouted "Over here guys!". Edd and Eddy rushed through the trees and bushes heading in the direction of Ed's voice. They came to a clearing after a few seconds. Ed stood next to what Edd had just explained what to look for. A long, dirt road, and by the looks of it, it had been traveled on many times before.

"Well, this is a nice start." Edd said as he looked both ways the road stretched.

"So, which way are we supposed to go..." Eddy mumbled before Edd walked up to a tree and began climbing its trunk.

"Hopefully an elevated view can provide us with just that answer, gentlemen." Edd responded. He climbed through the branches, moving twigs and leaves out of his face. He then reached the tree top and began to survey the area. Trees. Miles and miles as far as he could see in the current direction he stared in.

"HEY EINSTEIN! SEE ANYTHING UP THERE YET?" Eddy asked from below

"IF I SAW ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE REMOTELY BENEFICIAL TO US EDDY, SURELY I WOULD HAVE-" Edd managed to say. It wasn't until he turned his head 180 degrees before he was what he needed in the distance. Building. It looked like a massive city built upon hills. He dived back into the branches as he made his way back down the tree.

"I've spotted out destination fellows." Edd walked up to the path and pointed to the left with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "That direction will bring us to civilization. The hustle and bustle of a big city."

"CITY!? SWEET! So, how long'll it take us?" Eddy asked with a large smile spreading across his face. Edd's hope quickly faded out of existence upon mentally calculating the distance from the city, and their current location.

"Erm...a day and a half by foot at best..." Edd replied sighing. He knew that without a motive of transportation, they were in for a long day and a half trek. They would have to camp out in what was literally 'The Unknown' to them. It wasn't until they started walking for a good half hour when heaven answered their mental prayers. Over his shoulder, Ed spotted a cloud of dust rising and it was heading straight in their direction.

"Hey guys. Look~!" Ed said pointing behind them. Edd and Eddy shifted their attention in the direction Ed was pointing. From the distance they were position in, they couldn't tell who, or what, was heading in their direction, or if it was good for that matter.

In a matter of seconds, Eddy grabbed Ed and Edd's shirts and yanked them into some bushes on the side of the road.

"I hope it ain't one of those...whatever we encountered...things that kicked up the ground..." Eddy muttered

"Eddy, if it so happens to be one, I'd much rather we hide in the trees again." Edd responded as he pushed a few twigs out of his face.

A few minutes passed before they saw two men riding on a horse driven carriage fly past them. By the looks on two mens faces, Edd could tell that they were on their guard. He was about to say something to Eddy, but the sudden movement of his body being dragged out of the bushes and back onto the dirt road caused him to yelp a bit.

"Eddy, the least you could do is warn me when you're about to-" Edd said before getting cut off by Eddy's hand covering his mouth. Eddy then moved his hand from Edd's mouth to his wrist. Soon, him and Ed were being dragged off down the path towards the direction of the carriage that had passed them a few minutes earlier.

"You saw those people, right Double D?" Eddy began "They were heading in the same direction the city is in! All we have to do is sneak into that carriage, and we'll be there in no time!"

"Eddy, I-" Edd started before letting Eddy's idea sink in. At the speed the two men were going, if they did hitch a ride, they would probably arrive to their destination in a few hours as opposed to a day and a half out in the wilderness. He himself couldn't argue with the logic behind that with the current situation they were in. "...actually, that sounds like a good idea." Edd finished

As the three Ed boys ran down the dirt road, they could see that they were fast approaching the horse and carriage. As Eddy had hoped, there were no doors on this carriage. This made it all the more easier for Eddy and his friends to sneak their way inside and secretly hitch a ride.

"Ed, try to keep running." Eddy whispered to his friend as he let go of his shirt. In his mind, he still couldn't help but feel uneasy after beating him. But Eddy had to push that thought out of his head for the moment. He focused his strength on grabbing Edd with both hands, and then hoisting him into the back of the carriage. As he did so, Eddy had to admit, in this "New Media", Edd had become a bit heavier. Eddy then grabbed a hold of the back of the carriage and pulled himself in. As much as Eddy wanted to take a breather, he knew that their trio wasn't complete without Ed. In a combined effort, Edd and Eddy reached their hands out, grabbing Eds arm, and with their combined their strengths, attempted to pull Ed on board. They struggled with the feat for a good 45 seconds before one of the carriages back wheels hit a rock sending Edd and Eddy flying back into the carriage. Their combined momentum from the bump was enough to pull Ed in as he flew for a few seconds before crash landing on top of Edd and Eddy. It was over now. Ed, Edd, and Eddy were safely inside now. They panted and wiped tiny beads of sweat from their foreheads.

"**Whew. **Hey Ed, you alright?" Eddy whispered turning to look at his friend. Ed laid on the bed of the carriage, panting. Eddy could see more blood slowly seeping through the bandages wrapped around his forehead.

"I am one with my shoe size, Eddy." Ed replied as he closed his scarlet eyes. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep from fatigue. Edd was also looking droopy eyed as he let out a yawn. While it provided his body a good intake of oxygen, it also made Edd feel light headed. Edd leaned back and tried to relax as he could feel his eyelids becoming progressively heavier and heavier.

"Sleepy sleepy sleepy sleepy..." Edd muttered before closing his now giant golden yellow eyes passing out asleep.

"Man, you two are helpless. Y'know that?" Eddy whispered as he continued to catch his breath. It wasn't until then that Eddy noticed through the adrenaline filled events that had just unfolded, but the horse carriage chase had worn him down pretty good. Eddy soon found himself yawning. The nice shade provided by the cover of the carriage, along with the warm temperature in this "New world" was starting to lull him into slumber.

"Pffft. Whatever, we still got time before we reach the city. Might as well take a power nap..." Eddy said before leaning back and closing his navy blue eyes and softly began to snore. Thankfully, the sound of the wheels rolling against the dirt road made it almost impossible for the drivers to hear his light snores.

* * *

Ed, Edd, and Eddy weren't sure how many minutes had passed in the meantime they were asleep. All they could remember was being interrupted from their slumber when they suddenly crashed into the front of the carriage. They could hear the crashing of something outside as well as the screaming of the horsemen.

"WHA!? HUH!? WHERE AM I!?" Eddy shouted looking around. Ed and Edd had also taken up monitoring their surroundings for the moment. They quickly rushed outside of the carriage to see what all the commotion was about. All three of them were instantly filled with regret from the decision of leaving the carriage. As soon as their feet touched the ground, a loud roar filled their ears. The trio stuck their heads around the side of the carriage to get an eyeful of a massive creature standing in the road. It completely towered over everyone as it stared at them with large, blood red eyes. Edd, and Eddy were filled with pure terror. Ed on the other hand was feeling a mixture of terror as well as excitement This topped the fear that engulfed them during the times of Edzilla, their encounters with the Kanker sisters, Booster Shot day, Rolf's ancestors visit to the cul-de-sac, all of them.

"I-Its an Earth Dragon!" one of the horsemen shouted. As if on cue, the monster lunged straight towards the latter of characters. Ed, Edd, and Eddy nearly screamed their lungs out. The monster was just about to slash at everyone before Edd caught something reflective out of the corner of his eye. A brown blur ran across his field of vision. The monster had halted its assault. Edd was searching for a reason as to why when something temporarily blocked the light of the sun for a few seconds. Edd looked up and saw that one of the arms of the monster had been sliced clean off. He had also caught sight of something that he hadn't expected. Or someone for that matter. A boy with long, messy brown hair landed on the ground behind the monster. He wore a long sleeved shirt and gray pants with brown boots and gloves. He was holding something in his right hand. From what Edd could discern at his distance, it looked like a sword.

"First-class Danger Beast, earth dragon..." the male spoke as he stood and turned towards the massive beast. Ed, Edd, and Eddy caught a good glimpse at his face. He had large, green eyes. "A worthy opponent." he continued as the labeled "Earth Dragon" turned it's attention towards the boy. It roared loudly before slamming its fist in the area the boy stood.

"You're angry, huh?" the boy mocked. In an amazing feat, he managed to launch himself high into the air at the last second. Ed, Edd and Eddy saw the male rocket out of the cloud of dust made from the heavy impact of the Earth Dragons fist hitting the ground. All Eddward could think of was how a jump such as the one just performed could be compared to when Ed tried to stay up during Eddy's up business scam. The word "Impossible" was stuck in his mind.

"It's over." The boy said calmly as he spun around with his sword drawn. He began to swiftly cut the monster in in several locations at a speed the Eds had never witnessed before. The boy stuck his landing in front of the stunned Earth Dragon. A second later, the Earth Dragons body burst open spewing blood out of it's cuts. It then collapsed with a earth shaking thud. Edd and Eddy's minds were now having a hard time processing what they just witnessed. With no machinery, technology, or assistance, a lone boy armed with a sword had killed a monster of immeasurable proportion.

"Double D...I think i'd honestly prefer being in the trailer park over this right now..." Eddy muttered as he clung to his arm. Edd couldn't even find the means to piece together words. His mind had been blown. **His jimmies had truly been rustled. **Ed on the other hand stayed much more predictable. However, his vocabulary had somehow...expanded..

"HOLY SHIT THAT WAS SO COOL!" Ed shouted as he jumped up and down. His mind had been consumed in hype. Edd and Eddy were too awestruck at the moment to realize the change at the moment. The two horsemen ran up to the boy with gratitude.

"That was amazing!" Horseman #1 complemented

"You actually took a Danger Beast down single-handedly!" Horseman #2 exclaimed

The boy put his sword away and turned towards the two with a large smile. "Of course~!" he replied "For me, it was nothing. Defeating him was a piece of cake!" he bragged. The horsemen simply stared at him in disbelief at how quickly his attitude had changed.

"By the way, I'm Tatsumi..." he introduced "A name that'll be famous throughout the imperial capital. You should remember it."

"You're saying you want to make it big in the imperial capital?" one of the men replied. Tatsumi simply replied "Yeah! Win success and fame in the imperial capital...it's every country boys dream!" The two horsemen turned to each other before speaking back to Tatsumi

"The Imperial Capital isn't the place of hopes and dreams that you think." one of the men replied. This caught Tatsumi's attention. "It's definitely lively, but there are monsters even worse than that Earth Dragon." Ed, Edd, and Eddy's eyes widened at this news. They were starting to doubt their choice of heading to this "Capital".

"What? You mean there are Danger Beasts in the city to?" Tatsumi asked. He was given an answer that really only made sense to him.

"It's the people..." the second man replied. "Humans, but their hearts are those of monsters. The capital's full of people like that."

Tatsumi simply sighed with a smile and adjusted his backpack. "I appreciate your advice, but I can't turn back now. I-no, we...we're going to make it in the imperial capital, and save our village!" he shouted as he ran off. Ed, Edd, and Eddy attempted to regain their composure. they made a stunning realization as they watched Tatsumi take his leave. They were only a fifteen minutes distance walk from the Capital. Ed, Edd, and Eddy quickly took to the brush in order to avoid being seen by both Tatsumi and the horsemen. They now began following Tatsumi into the Imperial Capital, where who knows what awaits for them.

* * *

_Just as humans eventually rot away, countries collapse, as well. Even the imperial capital, which has prospered for a thousand years, is now a living hell of corruption. Evil spirits take human form and run amok, claiming everything as their own. Those evils which heaven cannot judge...they will be dealt with in the darkness. By us...the assassins._

* * *

Minutes later, Tatsumi and the Eds had arrived in the base of the capital. Ed, Edd, and Eddy had done well in keeping out of Tatsumi's sight. They were however having trouble trying not to get distracted by the beauty of the capital.

"Wow! Awesome! So this is the imperial capital..." Tatsumi gawked as he looked off into the distance. The Capital appeared to be built on top of a large hill.

"So it is..." Edd muttered as he kept out of Tatsumi's sight. Ed, Edd, and Eddy continued to stay out of the boys sight

"If I make good money here, I could buy the entire village!" Tatsumi continued as he walked on. This bit of information heavily peaked Eddy's interest. A successful scam here could land him in the big leagues. Ed was busy flashing his trademark stupid smile (albeit, it looked less stupid in this media), as he took in the sight around him such as the fruit stands, the tall buildings and apartments, a cafe, a girl with yellow hair drinking coffee at a table.

"I should head for the barracks!" Tatsumi said to himself as he walked on. Tatsumi soon approached a building marked with an emblem that featured two swords and a shield on it as well as two flags that Edd could only guess were to symbolize some sort of military. The trio stayed outside as Tatsumi walked into the building and conversated among themselves.

"So Double D, we still need to think of a way to get back. I don't wanna see anymore of those Danger Beast things." Eddy said as he kicked the ground

"I whole-heatedly agree with that Eddy, but how can we be sure that Ed can still break reality here. How can we be sure of anything!? I still can't get over how different we look!" Edd said as he stared at his hands

"But guys! We are three! And three is one!" Ed said as he pulled Edd and Eddy close to him. As helpless of a comment that was, it reassured them that as long as they were together, nothing too bad could happen.

"Lumpy's right Sockhead. We just gotta' tough it out! We cover each other!" Eddy said giving Ed a noogie. In spite of all the events going on, Edd found a chance to smile. There heartwarming moment was interrupted when the door busted open and Tatsumi flew out.

"GET OUT!" A man shouted as Tatsumi tumbled onto the ground. Tatsumi turned and looked behind him with a look of confusion on his face. "What was that about? Why not test me out!?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Due to the recession, we're flooded with applicants! There are limits as to how many we can hire!" the man shouted in response

"Oh, really?" Tatsumi questioned with a look of both blankness and surprise

"If you get it, scram, you damned brat!" the man replied as he slammed the door closed

Tatsumi sat there, sighed, and then spoke to himself. "Do I cause a scene and make a reputation for myself? But I might get caught..."

Just then, a yellow haired female walked up behind him.

"Hi!" she said causing Tatsumi to lean back to get a glimpse of whoever was speaking to him

"Hrmm?" Tatsumi murmured as he looked up and was shocked as he was getting a face full of her cleavage. "Something seems to be troubling you, young man." the woman spoke "Want a lady to lend a hand?"

"S-so this is the Imperial Capital..." Tatsumi stammered trying not to fall over. His efforts did not go unnoticed.

"What's wrong with you?" the female asked "Drawn by dreams of making it in the capital, you came all the way from the country?"

"How did you know that?" Tatsumi asked standing up

"I knew at once. If you've lived in the capital long enough, you can identify outsiders." She explained "Anyway, I know a quick way to get hired for government services~."

"Seriously!?" Tatsumi exclaimed

"Want to know how?" the female responded. Tatsumi simply nodded his head responding "Yes, Yes!"

"Then treat a lady to a meal!" the woman said smiling as she grabbed his wrist and walked off into a nearby restaurant. Ed, Edd, and Eddy secretly followed in after

* * *

As Ed, Edd, and Eddy walked in, Tatsumi noticed them. He focused his attention on them for a few seconds before he returned his attention back to the female that was sitting at the opposite end of the table from him. The yellow haired girl was chugging down a beverage cheerfully before she slammed it down on the table and laughed. She had blush in her face. "Drinking during the day sure is fantastic!" she cheered before sliding her cup over to Tatsumi "Have a drink, young man! Have some fun!"

Tatsumi simply responded with "Just tell me how to get hired by the government!"

"Well, that's simply..." She started "Having connections and money."

"M-money?" Tatsumi asked

"I know a guy in the military. If you give him cash, it'll be real quick!" the woman responded

"I get it. Then would this be enough?" Tatsumi asked as he pulled a large sack of what Eddy could discern was money out of his backpack. The sound of the coins rustling was enough to make him drool.

"Oh, absolutely!" the woman responded impressed.

"On my way here, I collected some rewards for slaying Danger Beasts." Tatsumi explained

"So you're strong." she complimented "You'll be a commanding officer in no time!"

"That's right! I'll leave it to you!" Tatsumi replied as the yellow haired girl picked up his bag and departed from the table, but not before saying one last thing to him.

"I think your encounter with me will serve as a valuable lesson, kid. I'm gonna go take care of this, so wait there for me, okay?"

"Okay~!" Tatsumi chimed as he waved goodbye to the female. A passing by waiter looked over at him. He, along with one of the Eds could already tell what was going on.

"M, it's nice to know that there are whole hearted people who would go out of their way help a...erm..villager?" Edd said as he thought about that scenario for a few seconds. Eddy on the other hand could already read the situation at hand.

"Come on Double D, a hot babe like her helping out a sap like him? He just got robbed in plain sight and he didn't even know it." Eddy replied sighing.

"Please Eddy, you saw the way she took him up on the street. If she was really that cruel, she may as well had just robbed him then and there." Eddy replied. "Let's wait a bit until she comes back. You'll see."

* * *

Tatsumi waited and waited. The Eds were hiding and spying on him all the wasn't until a few hours had past that Edd finally gave up his theory that people here were kind-hearted.

"You know what fellows? I believe I know what those horsemen were saying now..." Edd said as he stood up and stretched before he fixed his hat.

"I've seen enough of the pigeon. Let's go." Eddy grumbled as he got up and walked out of the restaurant alongside of his amigos. He couldn't believe he had found someone so gullible. He was almost as gullible as Ed in his mind. As they walked out of the restaurant, they realized that the sun was almost down over the horizon.

"Oh great...now what?" Eddy moaned as he took notice of the time change. "We ain't got money for a hotel."

"And even if we did, I'm sure it wouldn't be cheap..." Edd replied. Suddenly, it dawned upon him that they would possibly have to spend the night on the streets...without a shower. As much as he wanted to so desperately complain over the fact that they had to wait for Eds to warp reality before he could go back to his hygienic rituals, he knew that there were many other things that needed attention.

Before long, they reached an opening to an ally. Eddy simply stopped in his tracks. "It looks like we've got no choice..." Eddy spoke as he slumped to the ground and curled up against the wall. "Good night."

"PARDON!?" Edd asked in shock. "I know we're going to have to sleep on the streets for tonight, but couldn't we at _least_ try to make some sort of shelter!?"

"Sock-head, we're God knows where, we look completely different from our normal selves, we chased down a horse and carriage on our own two feet, we almost got eaten today by a...what the heck's that thing called?" Eddy said as he snapped his fingers trying to remember what Tatsumi called the beast from earlier. "...Earth Dragon. Yeah, that's it. But anyway, I'm tired Sock-head. I just wanna go home already."

Ed stood looking around in the alleyway. As he looked back towards the entrance of the alleyway, he could spot what he almost missed that looked like a few figures running on some rooftops. Ed didn't say anything about it however. He simply collapsed onto the ground with a big smile and said "Nighty night!" before he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Edd wasn't too fond of sleeping on the ground. So instead, he found a nearby crate, curled up on top of it (like a cat :3) and rested.

...

An hour or two had passed by before a carriage rolled down the street. A girl with short blonde hair rode inside of it. She was busy looking out of the window when she spotted the lovable trio sleeping out in the alleyway. As she looked at them, she immediately told the drivers to stop. To her command, the drivers of the carriage pulled to a gentle stop. One of the drivers looked back and spoke to her through a small opening behind his head.

"Again, my lady?" one of the drivers asked

"You know I can't help it. It's my nature~" she replied as she opened the door and walked out towards Edd. She tapped his leg a bit causing Edd to slowly open his eyes.

"Hm?" Edd sighed as he woke up. He stretched out his arms and legs. Unfortunately, he had forgotten the fact that he was sleeping on a box and he tumbled right off of it, yelping as he hit the ground. The yelp was enough to bring Ed and Eddy to their senses. Edd rubbed his head as he looked up at the young female. This girl was dressed very nice, and her baby blue eyes looked around at all three of them before she spoke. She could see by their clothing that they were not from the area, but the fact that they were sleeping out in the open was good enough of a reason for her to ask her question.

"I see you three have no place to stay. If you'd like, would you like to stay at my home?" she asked

Almost fully awake, Edd and Eddy exchanged looks. The sudden out of the blue offer seemed nice, but after witnessing what happened earlier today, they were now skeptical of everything.

"I'm sorry madam, but we don't have any money." Edd replied. The girl giggled and replied "You wouldn't be sleeping here if you did, would you?"

The drivers of the carriage suddenly walked up behind her. One of them wore a mask over his face.

"Lady Aria can't ignore people like you." the mask-less man said. "You three accept her generosity.

"What would you like to do?" Aria asked. Edd looked at her with a bit of blush in his cheeks. "W-well, it's far more sanitary than sleeping on the streets."

"It's settled, then!" Aria replied as she helped Edd up. Ed and Eddy were giver assistance by the drivers and walked into the carriage as they departed the alleyway towards lady Aria's domain.

Not long after they took off, lady Aria had the drivers stop on the end of a bridge. She told the Eds not to move as she got out. A few minutes later, she re-entered the carriage alongside of none other than Tatsumi. Ed, Edd, and Eddy's eyes widened a bit, but they kept to themselves as they didn't want to look suspicious.

* * *

After picking Tatsumi up, they arrived at a large mansion. They were then brought inside and into a large, fancy, living room. A man sat in a chair with a fireplace positioned behind him. To his left, a woman who Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi could only guess to be his wife was sitting in a similar chair. Aria walked past the four of them and sat in a chair to the man's right. The drivers took their positions by the fireplace as Tatsumi and the Eds looked around in amazement.

"Oh, Aria's brought some guests home again." the man in the chair spoke

"My...It's simply her habit. I wonder how many there have been." The wife spoke as she smiled at the four

"Mother!" Aria exclaimed in embarrassment.

"Th-Thank you..." Tatsumi and Edd said almost in unison. However, Edd did not bow, as he, nor Ed and Eddy know the customs of Japan. Or know they were in Japan for that matter.

The man, who Edd and Tatsumi could only guess was Aria's father, chuckled as he spoke

"There's no need to be nervous."

"I bet you're all hungry." Aria's mother said

However, Tatsumi's focus was elsewhere. He was examining the two drivers standing by the fireplace. From what he could guess, they also served as guards.

"_Those guys over there are really strong. Maybe it's because of those guys that they don't feel threatened, being kind to a group of strangers like us." _Tatsumi thought to himself. He then clasped his hands together and smiled warmly. "_It's nice to know there are kind people like these even in the capital." _

"Uhm, yeah. Thank's for taking us in!" Eddy stammered. Being in a mansion such as this one, this was almost a dream to him.

As the four of them sat down on a couch together, they introduced themselves. Ed, Edd, and Eddy only gave them there names and told them that they were only passing through the area as tourists before they ended up in an accident shortly before they arrive in the capital. Shortly after, Tatsumi explained to them his reason for being in the capital. Aria's father took a drink of his tea before setting it down and speaking.

"I see...You want to gain military success, and save your village." He summarized

"Yes, sir." Tatsumi answered

"Well Tatsumi, as a person who upholds moral standards and cares for the well being of others, I wish you the best of luck on your endeavors." Edd said as he stuck out his hand. Tatsumi smiled at him and shook his hand thanking him for the compliment

"But you know..." Aria's father interrupted "Within the imperial capital, it is peaceful. However, this country is surrounded by three different races. You could be assigned to the international border to fight."

Tatsumi let go of Edd's hand and spoke. "I've prepared myself for that."

"I see. What impressive spirit. This is exactly how the young should be." Aria's father replied

"Did you come from the village all by yourself, Tatsumi?" Aria asked leaning forward in her seat

"No, with three others." Tatsumi said as he thought back to the day he first left the village for the capital. After almost a minute of silence, he spoke again. "And we left with high spirits. But soon after, bandits attacked us, and we've been separated ever since."

Edd and Eddy mentally sighed in relief. At least they hadn't been attacked by any bandits while they were out in the forest.

"Oh dear.." Aria's mother commented

"They're strong, so I'm not necessarily worried, but...but Ieyasu is unbelievably bad with directions. I wonder if he'll even be able to find where we're supposed to meet..." Tatsumi said as he leaned forward and rested his chin on the back of his hands

"_Ouch_" Eddy thought trying not to chuckle

"Very well, then." Aria's father said causing Tatsumi to look up

"I'll put in a good word with a military acquaintance. And I'll request a search for those two, as well."

This news raised Tatsumi's spirits to the point of making him stand up. "Really? Thank you so much!" Tatsumi replied bowing in respect

"_At least it won't go down like earlier.."_ Eddy thought to himself

"My intuitions are usually spot on. I think you'll see the two of them soon." Aria chimed in as she smiled before turning to the Eds. "And as for you three, don't worry. I'm sure you'll all be back home soon."

"Miss Aria..." Tatsumi thanked

"I hope so! Baby sister might worry for Ed!" Ed said as he rubbed the bandages wrapped around his head.

Aria's father then called for the guards to show them to the bedrooms. Ed, Edd, and Eddy shared a room together. Even though neither truly belonged to him, Edd was ecstatic to be able to take a shower and sleep in a warm, comfy bed. After convincing Ed to bathe in a tub that was not filled with gravy, the three of them slipped into the provided night attire. Three beds stood in the room that promised a good nights rest.

"My, this has certainly been a turn of events." Edd said as he crawled underneath the covers. "Still, I'm not sure how long this will hold us for. We need to find a way back home. Back to our own dimension."

"Hey Double D, do you think Sayo and Ieyasu were alright?" Ed asked "You don't think that they could have been captured by THE SLENDER MAN!?"

Eddy picked up one of his shoes by his bed and threw it at Eds head. "Knock it off will ya' lumpy? I don't wanna think about that faceless nightmare before I go to sleep."

"That's Jeff the Killers line, Eddy." Ed replied

"...Whatever. We can figure out what to do next in the morning. I'm hitting the sack." Eddy said as he turned over and went to sleep. "G'night Edd, g'night Ed."

Edd looked out the window as he slept. As he said before, he was a person who cared for the well being of others. He said a small prayer for both Ieyasu, Sayo, and the kids back at the cul-de-sac before he and Ed drifted off, for they were so tired, even Eds heavy snoring didn't bother them.

* * *

The next day, Aria took Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy out shopping around the capital. They had been told that they were going on a shopping trip the morning they woke up, however, the phrase 'Shop till you drop' was weighing heavy in Tatsumi, Edd, and Eddy's minds

"Next, we're going to that store!" Aria pointed out as she went from store to store.

"Please wait, my lady!" one of the guards grunted. Both the guards, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi were struggling to keep up with her as they carried around the heavy loads of merchandise. Ed on the other hand, well, if one thing hadn't changed, it was his nearly inhuman strength.

"Her shopping is pretty intense, isn't it?" Tatsumi remarked as he looked at the high stack of bags he was carrying

"Agreed. The sheer amount is getting silly." Edd replied as he nearly collapsed trying to set the bags in a cart attached to the back of the carriage.

"It's not just the lady." One of the guards spoke. "All women are like this."

"Really?" Tatsumi asked "Those I know choose what to wear right away."

Edd felt a disturbance in the air as Tatsumi criticized female wardrobes

"But anyway, you four" the guard began

"Yes?" Ed, Edd, Tatsumi, and Eddy replied

"Take a look at that." The guard said looking off into the distance. The four of them turned their attention to see hills upon hills of the capital grounds. They also caught an eyeful of the giant walls surrounding the capitals center.

"Over there, you can see in the distance the imperial capital's center, the palace." the guard spoke

"It's huge!" Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy gawked. "No pause." Eddy quickly added

"Is that where the great emperor is, the one who can change a country?" Tatsumi asked

"No. It's a little different than that." the guard replied before huddling the five of them together

"There's an emperor, but he's only a child. The prime minister controls the emperor from the shadows. And he's the reason why this country rots." the guard explained

"The min-" Tatsumi managed to get out before the guard covered his mouth. "Don't say anything suspicious. If anyone hears us, they'll have our heads."

Tatsumi understood. Ed, Edd, and Eddy understood also. However, they each had a different opinion on the capitals predicament. Ed really couldn't care, his attention span didn't really allow him to. Edd was mortified at how twisted sounding the capital was. Eddy also didn't care at first, but he was starting to become interested in just what the heck was going on.

"Then...my village also suffers from heavy taxation because..." Tatsumi whispered as he looked down in disappointment

"In the capital, it's an accepted practice." the guard responded before looking over his shoulder at a brick wall with multiple posters on it. "And then there are others like those over there." he pointed out.

On the red, brick wall, three wanted posters hung. Two were for females named Najenda and Akame, and one was for a male named Bulat. Above each of their names read two words.

"Night Raid?" Ed of all people asked

"They're a group of assassins that's terrifying the imperial capital. As the name suggests, they attack their victims at night." the guard explained. "They mainly target high-ranking executives and the capitals upper class. Prepare yourselves, just in case."

"Yes, sir." The four responded clenching their fists showing that they were on guard. Edd and Eddy were actually pretty terrified of the thought of these people possibly mistaking them as upper class.

"Also, could you guys do something about that?" The guard asked as he pointed behind the cart. Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy look to see Aria skipping towards them with two other guards struggling to lift a massive gift wrapped box. Eddy simply busted out laughing at the sight of the guards struggling, Edd grabbed a hold of Ed and quickly rushed over to offer assistance, and Tatsumi simply questioned "What kind of training is this!?"

* * *

After a long day of helping Aria with her shopping, it was night. Everyone was tuckered out and sleeping. All except for Aria's mother, who walked down one of the halls with her diary in hand. The wall to her right was lined with windows showing the night sky.

"Now, then. Maybe I'll write in my diary today." she said as she smiled and continued walking. "I just can't stop this hobby."

Unfortunately for her, she would no longer have to worry about that hobby. A giant blade came swinging from out of the shadows and glistened in the moonlight. In a split second, blood went splashing into the air.

"Eh?" was the last word that escaped Aria's mothers mouth as the upper half of her body flew through the air. A large pair of scissors with a panda imprint on the cross section was visible in the moonlight. The blood of Aria's mother was slathered all over the blade as it seemingly hovered over the bottom half of Aria's mother where it still stood. The top half of Aria's mothers body then hit the floor. It was then that a woman's figure could be seen standing in the darkness. She had long, purple hair, glasses on her face, and a long, light lilac dress that was now covered in the blood of Aria's mother.

"My apologies." she said as she bowed in respect over the mothers severed body.

Though in different rooms, Tatsumi and Ed both woke up, as they could both sense something was going on.

"What's going on?" Tatsumi asked himself as he sat up in bed "Murderous intent?" he asked himself as he sprang out of bed.

Ed on the other hand leaped out of bed. He rushed to Edd and quite violently shook him awake

"ED! WHAT HAS GOTTEN IN TO YOU MISTER!?" Edd asked loudly as he was interrupted from his slumber. The commotion was enough to wake Eddy up. All Eddy could see was Ed reaching for his shirt and yanking him out of bed. At almost the same time, Tatsumi and Ed had completely thrown their bedroom doors open and ran down the hall.

"Ed! You could sense something to?" Tatsumi asked

"I could feel it in my lasagna, Tatsumi!" Ed said as he dragged Eddward and Eddy behind him. Tatsumi simply looked at him with a confused expression for a few seconds before turning his attention back to where he was running. By now Edd was wide awake

"Tatsumi! Ed! What on earth is going on right now!?" Edd asked as he tried to keep his hat on his head

"It can't be..." Tatsumi muttered as he continued running alongside the Eds

There was a sudden flicker in the moonlight. Ed and Tatsumi stopped their sprinting and looked outside the window. A girl with red eyes and black hair stood alongside of many other unknown characters in mid-air. Her hair waved in the wind in front of the red moon shining in the sky. From what Tatsumi could tell, they were standing on what looked like a massive string like web. It took Edd a few seconds to figure out what the heck he was looking at. Seeing Akame's face refreshed his memory. Edd's golden yellow eyes widened with pure fear. Eddy looked out the window at the group of people on the string web. It took him a bit longer to recognize who he was looking at. He then remembered the poster the guard showed the four of them earlier.

"Hey, that girl is...uhm...Akame! That means that's..." Eddy said before all grogginess left his body. Adrenaline hit him like the truck that slammed into him when he was cursed with bad luck from Rolf's telephone. Harder than when Ed slammed a house atop of him when he and Jimmy were competing for attention. ..."OH SHIT..."Eddy gawked as his eyes widened.

"That's..." Tatsumi stammered as he looked at the cast that stood before them. A girl with pink hair that was put in twin pigtails. She appeared to be holding a large device. Other people included the girl known as Akame, a tall, bulky figure in armor with a staff slung around his back, a boy with long, green hair and goggles on his head (which oddly reminded them of a character they knew back in Peach Creek), and a blonde female with cat ears and paws as well as a cat's tail."

"NIGHT RAID!" Tatsumi exclaimed

"N-N-NIGHT RAID!" Ed, Edd, and Eddy screamed

"Night Raid...Just because they're wealthy, you'll target this place, too? Tatsumi asked through the window. It took a great deal of Edd's courage to take his eyes off of the group of assassins and look down at the ground below.

"Tatsumi! Look!" Edd pointed. Tatsumi looked down and saw many of the mansions guards running out into the night, armed with weapons.

"What do I do? Do I back them up?" Tatsumi asked "..Or should I guard?"

"I know! Let's save our skins by going back to bed and pretending we saw nothin'!" Eddy suggested

As Edd argued with Eddy over whether to defend the family, the members of Night Raid were discussing matters among themselves.

"Our targets are three guards, Akame." the green haired boy said as he watched the guards running out the mansion prepared to fight and defend the family.

"They will be eliminated." Akame said as she fell backwards through an opening in the web towards the ground. As she landed, the figure wearing the heavy armor landed behind her. They were going to tag team a ground assault as the guards ran up to confront them. Akame simply stared at her targets as they came to a halt a few yards away from her. Tatsumi and the Eds continued to watch from one of the mansion windows. Akame then reached to her side and drew what looked to be a sword.

"Listen, don't touch that sword." one of the guards spoke. And with that warning, another one of the mansions guards charged straight towards Akame with his weapon drawn. With a single slash, she struck the guard square in the throat. His neck burst open with blood spewing out of his mouth. The figure wearing the heavy armor then reached for his staff, arced it back, and then thrusted it forward both impaling the guard, and sending him flying backwards.

"A fitting end for someone like me...whose true nature is rotten." the guard spoke as odd symbols began to literally slither up the sides of his neck from out of his wound and up to his head. Seconds after, the guard collapsed dead on the ground. The guard that just so happened to be standing next to him looked in horror before attempting to turn tail and run.

"What's with these guys? They're monsters!" he shouted before a loud bang was heard and a beam of energy was shot straight through his head. Edd's eyes traced the trajectory in which the beam had been shot to the girl with pink hair. It had become apparent to Edd that the device the pink haired girl was holding was some sort of gun.

"How pathetic. Running when facing the enemy." The sniper girl spoke

"Though who wouldn't run in those circumstances?" The green haired male replied

Tatsumi and the Eds backed away from the window.

"_Completely annihilated in an instant. I must at least protect Miss Aria!" _Tatsumi thought to himself as he jetted down the hallways

"Tatsumi! Where are you going!" Edd shouted. However, Ed had suddenly begun dragging him and Eddy at high speeds also.

"YOU LUMMOX! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" Eddy shouted trying to plant his feet on the ground. The effort only resulted in the soles of his shoes wearing down a bit. "I DON'T WANNA BE KILLED BY A BUNCH OF ASSASSINS!"

"We must protect Aria, Eddy!" Ed shouted as he continued to bolt through the halls

"But Ed! With what can we use as adequate defense!?" Edd shouted clinging on to Eds arm for dear life. Ed suddenly came to a stop before speaking.

"Wait! ...My brain is working!" Ed said as he stuck his hand under Double D's hat and pulled out a familiar looking item. It was one of the pairs of gloves Edd had shown to them before they arrived in this new world. Their appearance had changed. They were now black and red with a thunderbolt symbol on them. Ed was now wearing Edd's new and improved Elec. Gloves

"YOU STILL HAVE THOSE ON YOU!?" Eddy asked in surprise. Without much thought, Edd quickly reached under his hat and shoved a pair of Red, Yellow, and silver gloves in his face. They had what appeared to be a buzz saw blade emblem on the back of them. These were the new and improved Blade gloves.

"Eddy! I know this is going to sound completely idiotic coming from me, but I agree with Ed! We must at least protect miss Aria! She took us in during our time of need. We can't just leave her for dead!" Edd said as he pulled out his last pair of gloves. They were Red, gold, grey, and dark blue. They had what looked like a v-shaped emblem on the back of them. These were the new and improved Boomerang gloves.

"Double D...THEY'RE FREAKING ASSASSINS! WE'RE ALREADY DEAD AS IT IS!" Eddy shouted not wanting to put on the gloves. Edd then explained to him that if they could possibly just go ballistic, similar to how Ed did in his basement, they could possibly just scare off Night Raid. Eddy, without a second thought, decided to go along with the idea. If it meant he had a chance at living, he would take it up in a heartbeat. Ed then picked the two of them back up before Eddy shouted "LET'S SICK EM ED!" It was only a few hallways down before they caught glimpse of Aria's father. He was not in a good spot at the moment

The yellow haired woman with the cat ears, paws, and cat tail had a firm grip on none other than Aria's father's neck. Surprisingly, she was able to lift him up off the ground single handedly as she progressively began strangling him tighter.

"H-Help..." Aria's father spoke between gasps of breath as he was trying desperately to breath. "I have a daughter..."

"Calm down." The woman spoke "You'll be with her on the other side."

"Even my daughter. Have you no mercy?" Aria's father spoke between chokes as he looked down at her

"Mercy? What's that?" the woman replied looking up at him with a sinister look. And with that, she gave little effort in completely crushing his neck, causing the man's body to fall limp in her hand, instantly killing him. She then dropped his body and turned to face the end of the hallway behind her only to see the frightened trio of Eds shaking in terror, well, Edd and Eddy shook with terror anyway. Ed dropped Eddy onto the ground as he raised his hand and pointed skyward shouting "PREPARE TO MEET YOUR MAKER, EVIL SCUM!". With that, Ed charged straight towards the woman, but not before Edd grabbed a hold of Eddy by the wrist. The woman simply answered his cry with "What the hell?" before flipping over Ed completely avoiding his barrage. However, Ed did not think to do the logical thing and turn around to charge at her again. He simply continued barreling down the hall straight towards a wall.

"ED! YOU IDIOT! SHE'S GETTING AWAY! THE WALL! STOP!" Eddy shouted.

"I AM ED! CHEESE AND MACARONI!" was all Ed replied with. If one had known the tendencies of Ed, they'd guess correctly that instead of slamming straight into the wall, Ed, Edd, and Eddy instead busted straight through it and began plummeting towards the ground.

Edd and Eddy had used their large friend as a cushion before colliding with the ground below them. After a few seconds of trying to recover from the impact, they stood up and dusted themselves off. They had taken falls from greater heights before, so this didn't hurt them too badly. The thought of strangling Ed came to Eddy's mind, but Edd's interjection on making haste to find Aria got the three of them back in the swing of the moment.

* * *

Elsewhere, a guard held on to Aria's wrist as he ran with her through the forest just outside the mansion in an effort to escape the assault of Night Raid.

"Hurry, my lady! This way!" the guard spoke

"What's going on!?" Aria questioned between pants for air

"We must get to the storehouse! It'll be safe there!" the guard answered back as they began running into a clearing in the forest. Sure enough, a few yards away from them stood a red, brick storage house. The windows were bolted up and there were two heavy iron doors that made the entrance. Just as they were about to enter the house, a voice called out from behind the two

"Found you!" Tatsumi shouted as he came to a stop and panted. At least he had located Aria, unlike the Eds, who were actually closing in on the location at a fast rate.

"Tatsumi?" Aria asked in surprise. She wasn't expecting to see him get caught up in all the commotion.

"You came at a good time. We're going into the storehouse and waiting for the authorities." the guard spoke turning to look at him. "In the meantime, you fend them off."

The order caught Tatsumi by surprise.

"That's impossible-" Tatsumi managed to say before the black haired, red eyed killer known as Akame landed behind him. The sound of her landing caused Tatsumi to jump a bit before turning around to face her. Akame was crouched in kneeling position before she raised her head and looked at him and drawing her sword.

"I guess I have no choice!" Tatsumi said as he drew his sword from his back. Akame leaned forward before dashing straight towards the three of them. Tatsumi armed himself for the worst. However, Akame's next move caught him off guard.

By now, Ed Edd and Eddy had finally rushed straight into the same clearing before coming to a rough stop. They watched as Akame rushed towards Tatsumi at amazing speeds. The Eds thought for sure that Tatsumi was dead meat.

"Not a target." Akame said as she literally jumped onto Tatsumi's head and used him as a platform to jump off of completely bypassing him

"_Not a...target?_" Edd thought to himself. He slowly started piecing together the possibility that maybe these assassins had a set plan in mind, and were not the ruthless murderers he had in mind.

"Damn!" Tatsumi shouted looking behind him as she temporarily flew. As Akame landed, the guard had a machine gun prepared and began opening fire on her. Akame dashed to the side evading the bullets whizzing past her. Eds was awestruck by her agility

"Target." Akame said as she closed in for the kill. For a second, everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Akame was now directly in front of the guard as she prepared to strike

"Eliminate." she finished as she struck his mid-section completely cutting him in half. The guards blood flew everywhere. No matter how many deaths the Eds had seen so far, it wasn't enough to keep them from nearly soiling their pants. Akame then turned to Aria, who took a few steps backwards before stumbling back onto the ground. Akame walked up to her with her sword out. The red moon in the sky casted her shadow over Aria's entire body making her look quite menacing

"Eliminate." Akame said as she raised her sword once more before the sound of fast approaching footsteps caused her to look to the side

"HOLD IT!" Tatsumi shouted as he took a swing at her. Akame quickly stepped to the side. Edd could tell that keeping her distance was keen to her. Edd then wiggled himself out of Eds grip and joined Tatsumi's side

"Tatsumi!" Edd shouted "Don't worry. We're here to help protect Aria with you!" Edd said as he held his hand open by his side activating his Boomerang gloves. A giant, golden boomerang suddenly materialized in his right hand."

"I wasn't aware you three were combat equipped." Tatsumi said as he looked at Double D. Ed and Eddy soon stood by him as well. Eddy activated his Blade gloves causing a giant buzz saw blade to materialize. Ed activated his Elec gloves causing currents of electricity to crackle around his hands

"Aren't you three scared?" Tatsumi asked. He had never seen the trio act like this, nor had he ever seen weaponry such as theirs either. But he didn't have time to question. He was just glad that he had backup.

"You four aren't targets. There's no need to kill you." Akame said looking at the four of them

"Ain't 'cha planning to kill this girl?" Eddy asked. Akame simply replied with "Yep." leaving the four of them dumbfounded at how emotionless she sounded about killing Aria.

"If you four get in my way, I'll kill you." Akame said

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN JUST RUN!" Tatsumi shouted back pointing his sword at her

"Is that so?" she answered "Then I shall eliminate you all". It was at that moment when regret started to fill Ed, Edd's, Eddy's, and Tatsumi's minds. As they were trying to focus on the battle that was about to ensue, the yellow haired woman walked down a dirt path into the opening

"So dirty! Dirty!" she said to herself as she walked out and caught an eye of the event about to unfold. She saw Akame about to face the four boys off in a fight.

"How unusual...Akame hasn't finished them off yet?" she said to herself before getting a better look at one of the males.

"Huh? Wait!" she said as she realized just who Akame was about to eliminate. It was the same boy she had scammed in the city a few days ago. "Jeez...how unlucky can one guy be?" she said as she face-palmed

"_This isn't someone I can defeat in my current state. But I can't worry about that. If I can't even save this one girl, how will I save an entire village?_" Tatsumi thought to himself as he stared Akame down. As if all of their minds were in sync, Akame, Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy all dashed forward in their attack. Tatsumi swung his sword overhead only for Akame to block it. Ed saw this as a open opportunity and fired a beam of electricity from his gloves. Akame darted to the side dodging Ed's attempt to electrocute her. Eddy swung at her with his saw blade, only for Akame to jump up and out of the way of his attack. She also managed to kick Eddy in the back before she landed knocking him into Edd. The stunt completely caught Tatsumi off guard. Right as he realized that his guard was lowered, Akame struck him.

"OH, CRAP!" Tatsumi shouted before Akame stabbed him in the heart with her sword. Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Aria all looked at him as he coughed before falling to the ground.

"Tatsumi!" Aria shouted. She could only helplessly watch the four of them fight Akame from the sidelines. Akame stood over Tatsumi's body with the tip of her sword still aimed at him. Tatsumi laid there for a second or three before he grinned and stood up.

"You won't even lower your guard and come near me?" Tatsumi asked looking at her

"I didn't feel any flesh." Akame replied. Tatsumi reached into his cream colored sweater and pulled out an object that had stood in the way of Akame's sword, and his heart from her previous strike.

"Everyone from my village protected me." Tatsumi said as he held the wooden lucky charm for her to see. The yellow haired woman continued to spectate the fight from the sidelines.

"_To survive after taking one of Akame's hits...that kid's pretty good._" she thought to herself.

Akame then shifted the position of her sword before she spoke up.

"Eliminate." was all she said as she prepared to strike and kill Tatsumi once again.

"Wait a second..." Edd and Tatsumi said putting their hands out in front of them in an attempt to try and get Akame to listen. "Aren't you guys after money? Let her go!" Edd said as Akame lunged forward

"It's isn't like we're at war. Yet you're willing to kill an innocent girl?" Tatsumi said darting backwards trying to keep space between him and Akame. He was beginning to understand that Akame was dead set on killing this family.

"It's no use...this chick ain't listening to anything those two are saying!" Eddy thought himself. The blade of Akame's sword almost reached Tatsumi's neck before the woman with yellow hair finally interrupted.

"Hold on." The yellow haired girl said as she grabbed Akame by the back of her shirt collar and tugged her backwards preventing her from finishing Tatsumi off. Now that Akame was restrained, Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy were able to turn their attention to their 'savior'.

"What are you doing?" Akame asked looking up at the woman

"We still have time, right? I owe this kid a favor." she replied. She then looked up from Akame to Tatsumi before she smiled and winked at him. "I figure I'd repay it."

Now that Ed, Edd, and Eddy were outside and not in the darkness of the mansion, they could already tell who she was. Edd and Eddy covered Ed's mouth to prevent him from possibly saying anything that would make them look suspicious. Tatsumi on the other hand looked at her for a second or two before he realized who she was in the moonlight

"YOU'RE THOSE BOOBS FROM EARLIER!" Tatsumi shouted as he pointed at her infuriated

"That's right! The beautiful lady!" the woman smiled back while waving at him. Her attitude suddenly changed almost as quickly as she had intervened in the fight

"Young man...you said something about killing the innocent, didn't you?" the woman spoke. This caught Tatsumi's, Ed's, Eddward's and Eddy's attention almost immediately. Aria's expression quickly jumped to one filled with unease. "Will you be able to say the same thing after seeing this?" the woman said as the approached the storage house they had been fighting in front of all this time. The woman kicked the door open causing the doors and chains to fly inwards and off of their hinges.

"Take a good look you four. This is the imperial capital's darkness." The woman said as she stepped into the storehouse. As Ed, Edd, Eddy and Tatsumi followed in after her, they were immediately horrified at the scene that laided before them. Tatsumi was shocked, but Ed, Edd, and Eddy were **DEFINITELY **not prepared for what they were seeing.

Bodies. Dead bodies everywhere they looked. Bodies impaled and laying on the ground. Bodies hooked and hung from the ceiling. Bodies cut in halves and fourths. Torture weapons. Limbs detached from their bodies. Bodies in cages. Living people in cages that had been severely beaten. And most of all, blood. Everywhere they looked, there was blood. Blood pooled up on the floor from all of the bodies laying in the storehouse.

"GOOD LORD MAN! I'M GOING TO BE ILL!" Edd screamed as he fell to his knees dropping his boomerang. He couldn't find the strength in him quick enough to step out of the store house before entering a vomiting fit. Eddy's jaw dropped. He dropped the saw blade he had been holding. He was shaking more than he had ever shaken in his whole life. Even the Kanker sister, nor the events that ensued during the day the cul-de-sac kids thought their world was being invaded by aliens couldn't induce this much fear into him. It wasn't long before he curled up onto the ground and started mumbling to himself about how he wanted to go home. He was so scared, he couldn't even find it in himself to blink. Ed's eyes widened also, but he was mixed with both disgust, and shock. He had always wanted to see a gory scene such as this one when he was reading his comic books, but even this was enough to unsettle him.

"Storage house bad for Ed!" Ed shouted as he tried to turn and run. The yellow haired woman simply grabbed him and turned him back around.

"Wh-What the hell is this?"Tatsumi stammered as he took in the gruesome sight

"They lure people from the countryside with sweet words, torturing them and playing with them until they're dead." the woman spoke with her arms crossed. "That is what this household really is."

Those words sent shivers down Tatsumi's back as he stepped further into the storehouse. However, those words would haunt Ed, Edd, and Eddy forever. If they had become too comfortable and stayed at this mansion long enough, they would have ended up in a fate similar to the scene that laid before them. They had barely snapped out of their trance before Tatsumi locked his eyes on a female with long black hair that hung from the ceiling. His eyes widened.

"Sayo..." Tatsumi gasped causing Ed, Edd, and Eddy to direct their eyes up at the body. THIS was the same Sayo Tatsumi had talked about when they first arrived at Aria's residence. The one he had left his village with, The one he grew up with.

"Hey, Sayo?" Tatsumi asked as he slowly stepped towards her lifeless body. "Is that you, Sayo?"

"Is it someone you knew?" the woman asked. Meanwhile, Aria could be seen turning away and trying to make a getaway. This ultimately failed as the woman grabbed her by her head and pulled her back "Hold on." she said as she turned Aria around and pulled her towards her. "Aren't you asking for a bit much, trying to run away like that?"

"The people of this household did this?" Tatsumi asked

"That's right. And since the guards kept quiet, they were just as guilty." The yellow haired woman replied

"That's a lie! I didn't even know this place existed!" Aria interjected "Will you four believe the one who saved you, or these people?"

Just then, a weak, male voice called out from one of the cages.

"Tatsumi...It's you, right, Tatsumi?" the individual asked. Tatsumi slowly turned his head to the left. Sure enough, it was another one of his friends. "It's me..."

"I-Ieyasu?" Tatsumi stammered as he watched his bloody, bandage wrapped friend stick his arm out between the bars of the cage towards him

"That girl invited Sayo and me to her home." Ieyasu explained "And after we ate, we lost consciousness, and when we came to, we were here..."

Ed, Edd and Eddy had managed to focus their attention on Ieyasu as he began spilling the cold, hard truth. "Th-That girl tortured Sayo to death!"

Suddenly, Aria's entire demeanor changed in an instant from cute and cuddly, to one filled with hate

"What's so wrong with that!?" she shouted as she slapped the yellow haired woman's hand off of her head and started screaming

"You're all worthless hicks from the country! The same as cattle! I'm free to do whatever I want to them, aren't I? And that woman, even though she was just a cattle, her hair was smooth! Who does she think she is!? When I struggle with my unruly hair!? That's why I made sure she suffered as much as possible! She should be grateful anyone paid that much attention to her!" This sudden switch almost broke Ed, Edd, and Eddy. In their attempt to get home, could they even bring themselves, or afford for that matter, to trust anyone in this new world?

"A family of sadists, disguised as Good Samaritans!" the woman said looking at Aria as she freaked out. Edd, and Eddy had found some strength to pick themselves up off the ground. Their heads hung low for the time. The darkness of night made it impossible to tell their expressions. Ed's expression on the other hand was clear. His expression looked a bit more dark. Not as dark as the time when he had gone on a rampage due to a pebble being in his shoe, but dark enough to know what Ed was thinking. With Double D, even though his face wasn't visible at the moment, tears could be seen falling down his face. Eddy was still shaking, but not out of fear anymore. He shook with rage. He had thought about what Aria and her family might have done to someone like Rolf. As many times as he poked fun at the guy, and tried to scam him, this was completely unacceptable. But most over, he was angry about what could have happened to him and his friends. They were planning to kill him, Edd, Ed, and Tatsumi all while looking them in the eye and smiling. He had been played like a fool and it almost costed him a trip back home, and his life. Akame had finally had enough waiting around and drew her sword so she could complete her task. The sword gleamed in the moonlight

"Sorry for getting in your way." The yellow haired woman said as she stepped aside

"Eliminate." was all Akame said ready to get things over with. She was once again cut off however. But not by the woman, but by Tatsumi, Ed, Edd and Eddy

"Wait." Edd, Tatsumi, and Eddy said almost in unison. The yellow haired woman and Akame looked at them somewhat surprised at his demand

"Don't tell me...You guys still want to defend her?" the woman asked. Tatsumi reached over his shoulder and grabbed the handle of his sword. At the same time, Eddy slid his hand across the ground and picked up his buzz saw blade. Edd also reached for his giant golden boomerang at the same time Eddy and Tatsumi began to draw their weapons. Ed simply opened his hands up causing them to crackle strongly with electricity.

"No..." Tatsumi and Eddy said together as the four of them walked out of the storehouse slowly towards Aria. It was at that moment all four of them said the exact same quote.

"I'll kill her!" They all said. Each one of them had a reason to strike. Tatsumi's closest friends had been tortured and one of them was now dead. Ed's friends had almost been hurt badly due to this girl. Edd was disgusted by the inconceivable acts this family had carried out behind closed doors, and Eddy because of how selfish this brat was. Even though some of the things he had done in the past were not to be seen as commendable, this was on an entirely different level. Each one of them attacked Aria at a different height. Tatsumi slashed Aria's mid-section open, Edd had struck her through the head with his boomerang, Eddy sliced her lower half off completely, and ed shot a powerful beam of electricity at Aria. The blast was so powerful, it literally caused Aria's body to explode. Blood flew everywhere as Aria's now lifeless body fell to the ground. Her blood covered Tatsumi's sword, Eddy's saw blade, Eddward's boomerang, and Ed's gloves. She was dead. The yellow haired girl looked at the quartet with her hand (or paw for the time being) under her chin. Edd and Eddy cringed a bit at the sight of what they had just done. It was then that the two collapsed to the ground. They had past out from emotional stress for the time. Ed looked down at them before he somehow found it in him to smile.

"Aw, they're sleeping. The little dickens~" he joked smoothly while looking down at them.

"_I know that they despise her now, but they killed her without hesitation._" she thought to herself. Akame also stared at the quad. Though it wasn't exactly clear what she was thinking at the moment.

"That's Tatsumi for you..." He said laughing a bit. "That felt great!" The following event that occurred after this statement on the other hand was the exact opposite of great. Ieyasu coughed up a large amount of blood.

"Ieyasu!" Tatsumi shouted as he quickly turned around and ran to him. The yellow haired girl was able to pry the bars of the cage open to the point where Tatsumi could pull him out. Tatsumi gently laid his friend on the floor.

"Ieyasu..." he said trying to quell his friends suffering

"It's the final stages of Lubora." Akame suddenly spoke up. Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi looked to her. "The mother of the house enjoyed drugging her victims, and she wrote about it in detail in her diary." Akame explained "He cannot be saved."

Tatsumi was mortified at this bit of information. Ieyasu began to speak his last few words.

"Tatsumi..." Ieyasu breathed heavily. Tatsumi picked him up again and held him close. "Sayo...She never gave in to that bitch. Even to the very end." Ieyasu then shut his eyes tight and smiled. "She was so cool! So Master Ieyasu has to have a cool end to..." he said trying to get Tatsumi to smile as he reached his hand up into the air and clenched it into a fist. He held it there for a few seconds before it fell limp back towards the ground. Tatsumi managed to grab onto it just in time.

"It seems he kept himself alive by will alone." Akame said looking down at him from a distance. Tatsumi pulled Ieyasu close and began to cry.

"What's going on in this capital?" Tatsumi asked as he cried. Akame then turned around and walked past the Eds out the storehouse doorway.

"Hey..." the yellow haired woman spoke to Akame. "Why don't we bring these kids along with us?" she asked pointing down at Tatsumi Akame stared at her for a few seconds. The woman then grabbed Tatsumi by the back of his collar and dragged him behind her. "Our secret base is always short-handed!"

"What are you doing!? Release me!" Tatsumi shouted as he was being dragged behind her. Akame then turned and looked at Ed, who smiled back at her before his eyes went big. Akame grabbed Ed by the collar of his green jacket and pulled him along behind her. Ed quickly managed to grab his two friends by their shirts and began stumbling behind Akame.

"Wait!" Ed shouted as he moved the grasp he had on Eddy's shirt into his left hand alongside of Double D. "Set me free and I will...um...oh! I will sell you some of my macaroni art!" Ed pleaded as he reached his now free right hand into his jacket wing and pulled out and held up two white sheets of paper with a single macaroni noodle glued in the center of each.

"I call this one: "Noodle or Not to Noodle!" And this one: "No more for me thanks. I am a Russian!""

The woman, Akame, and Tatsumi all simply looked at Ed. The woman snickered a bit before she continued to walk on. As they continued to walk, the woman spoke up.

"These guy's have luck, courage, and even skill! Wouldn't you agree?" she asked Akame

"I have to dig a grave for those two!" Tatsumi shouted referring to his deceased as he went back to complaining. The woman looked back at Tatsumi as she continued to drag him along.

"Oh, I'll bring their bodies to our secret base later, so don't worry." she replied

"Huh? Let me go!" Tatsumi continued as he squirmed. Akame looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly, a new voice spoke up. The pink haired girl Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy saw from inside the mansion earlier stood before the group. She had a black strap holding her gun slung over her right shoulder.

"You're late!" the pink haired girl said as she stared down at the latter. The woman and Akame leaped up onto the rooftop carrying the squirming Tatsumi, unconscious Edd and Eddy, and Ed, who had given up on bribing them with his macaroni art.

"What were you doing? And what are those things?" the pink haired girl asked

"Our new friends!" the yellow haired woman replied. This answer shocked Ed, and Tatsumi. **THIS **was the reason they were being dragged off.

"Huh?" Tatsumi asked as he looked at the woman

"Oh? Did I not tell you?" she replied dropping Tatsumi on the roof. "From now on, you guys are one of us."

Tatsumi, Ed, looked up at the entire group of people that stood before them. And even though they were unconscious, Edd and Eddy could still faintly hear what they were saying.

"Congratulations on becoming members of Night Raid!" the woman finished. Ed and Tatsumi looked up at the group as they faced them with the moon behind their backs. Ed, in a last attempt, held up his macaroni art once more. "Macaroni art anybody?" was all Ed said before Tatsumi stood up and yelled at the yellow haired woman.

"Why is this happening!?" he asked as Ed sadly put his macaroni art back in his jacket

"Give up you two." Akame said looking at them. "Once she's made up her mind, Leone won't give up."

Ed and Tatsumi now at least knew the name of this yellow haired female making it a lot easier for the writer of this story to avoid repetition.

"As expected, you know me so well~" Leone chimed as she patted Akame's head. She then turned to the large figure wearing heavy armor that the Eds and Tatsumi spotted from the mansion window before.

"Bulatcchi, I'll leave him to you!" Leone said pointing to Tatsumi as she herself picked up the unconscious Eddy. He and Double D's saw blade and boomerang had de-materialized at some point. Akame picked up the unconscious Edd and held onto him. The pink haired girl walked over to him and poked at his unconscious face. She couldn't help but notice how much more fragile looking this guy was compaired to the other three.

"...dork." she muttered as she walked away from the two. Bulat then picked up Tatsumi and held him under his right arm.

"Hey! Let go of me! I have no intention of becoming an assassin!" the shouted as he figure looked down at him and spoke

"It'll be okay. I promise it'll get better." he spoke causing Tatsumi to look up at him scared. If Edd was conscious, he would already know that a statement like that would usually result the complete opposite.

"Wh-What will?" Tatsumi stammered as the green haired male that the four saw earlier attempted to pick up Ed.

"God damn, do you weigh a ton!?" he complained. Ed simply smiled at him and responded with "Hello, my name is Ed~!"

"Mission complete. Time to return." Akame said before jumping up into the air leaping onto another rooftop. The other members of Night Raid followed after her carrying and bringing Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy along with them. Ed laughed at all the while.

"What's up with this turn of events?!" Tatsumi shouted as they leaped off into the darkness of night. Ed simply chimed "Quack~" as they continued to move forward.

"_What's going to happen to me?_" Tatsumi thought to himself. Night Raid had just found themselves new recruits that night. A boy from a countryside village, and three boys from a completely different dimension. This truly was a turn of events.


	3. Ch3: Kill the Author-Ed-Ty

Chapter 3: Kill The Author-Ed-Ty

* * *

There was a warm, summer breeze that filled the air. After the events that unfolded last night, Night Raid had taken Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy back to their home base in a forced attempt of getting them to join the group of assassins. After coming to last night, Edd and Eddy completely freaked out at the fact that they had been kidnapped. However, they managed to keep enough of a cool to avoid raising too much suspicion. The members of Night Raid agreed to let the four boys mull over the offer some more overnight. As true to her word, Leone returned to the storehouse and retrieved the bodies of Ieyasu, and Sayo. It was now afternoon of the next day and Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy were gathered around two makeshift graves made from two rocks that served as headstones. Tatsumi laid a bouquet of green roses on each of their graves. He got down on his knees and began to pray for the two of them. As he did so, his mind began going through the memories of Ieyasu and Sayo. They themselves were a trio almost like Ed, Edd, and Eddy.

"_We three swear that when we die, we'll die together!_" Tatsumi remembered hearing Sayo shout as he agreed. Ieyasu then spoke up cheering about how they would succeed in the capital and earn money. "_We're gonna save our village!_" Tatsumi remembered himself saying.

"_We said that stuff." _He thought as he open his eyes and looked at their graves. "And now, I'm alone..."

"We offer you our sincerest sympathies, Tatsumi." Edd said as he looked down at him. Tatsumi continued to stare at his friends graves before a pair of breasts suddenly rested upon his head. They belonged to none other than Leone. She grinned as she leaned oven him from behind. She placed her hands on his shoulders. The sudden event startled Tatsumi making him quickly get up and back away from her towards the edge of the cliff-side.

"What are you doing all of a sudden!?" Tatsumi asked her in surprise. Leone then proceeded to answer his question.

"Have you four decided if you want to join us?" she asked. Eddy face-palmed and sighed as he walked up to her.

"Look, we already told you, we-" Eddy managed to say before Leone put her hand around the back of his head and pulled him close to her. She definitely wasn't going to stop asking until she got the response she was looking for.

"But I think you guys have talent for killing~" Leone said as she poked Eddy's cheek with her left hand. The sudden physical contact began to make Eddy's face turn pink with blush. Tatsumi then spoke up.

"Talent isn't the issue...It's the killing." he said as Eddy turned his eyes towards him. All four of them saw eye to eye on that matter. Leone simply looked down at Eddy and softly smiled before she began to walk back to the base. Night Raids base was out in the middle of the forest a sizable distance away from the imperial capital..It resided underneath a large cliff. Perfect for staying out of sight.

"Anyway, I'll introduce you guys to the others today!" Leone said as she kept Eddy by her side. Eddy pulled at her elbow as he struggled to get his head free.

"Ack! My neck..." Eddy shouted as he was forced to walk beside her. Ed, Edd, and Tatsumi looked at each other before they followed after them. After the crazy events that unfolded yesterday, it was time for them to formally meet the rest of the Night Raid members. Back in the said base, A figure watched them from above. It was none other than Akame. Akame watched from a window in a room high above the ground. She wasn't exactly sure what Leone saw in the four boys, but it looked as if she was soon about to find out.

* * *

Moments later, Leone, Eddy, Tatsumi, Eddward, and Ed arrived back inside the base. They were lead to what what appeared to be a dining room. A woman with long, purple hair wearing violet Chinese-like attire and glasses sat in one of the chairs. She turned and greeted the latter of characters that stood before her. As Leone explained to her the situation, the woman spoke.

"Eh? You boys are still undecided about joining?" she asked looking up at them.

"That's right." Leone replied as she took her arm from around Eddy and patted his head. "Sheele, give them some words of encouragement, will you?" she asked with a smile. Edd was sort of eager to hear what the female known as Sheele had to say. She looked like a gentle, rational girl judged on her appearance. Sheele then looked away from them and thought for a few seconds.

"Hrmm..." she pondered. She then found a 'logical reason'. "Now that you know our base's location..." she started as she then turned and looked back at the four males. The glare in her glasses made it impossible to see her eyes at the moment. "If you guys don't join us, you'll be killed." she finished. Eddy's expression changed to one similar to what he had when Kevin suggested that Eddy should go in Rolf's house first if he wanted to be leader so badly when Rolf's ancestors visited and Ed crash landed into the playground out of a meteor. Edd pulled his hat over his face. So much for his assumption. Ed's eyes widened at the news of death. Tears were brought to Tatsumi's eyes as he processed the information in his head.

"The encouragement's moving me to tears..." he said sarcastically.

"Death is bad for Ed..." Ed muttered

Sheele then picked up a book she had laying in her lap and began reading it again.

"You four should consider this very carefully." she said as she took her attention off of them.

"_No shit, Sherlock._" Eddy thought to himself. He then turned his attention to the cover of the book Sheele was reading. Edd, and Tatsumi had also caught a glimpse of the cover. It read: "One Hundred Ways To Cure Being An Airhead"

"_It really is an assembly of weirdos..._" they thought to themselves simultaneously. Suddenly, another voice could be heard. Someone new had just entered the room.

"Hey! Wait a second Leone." said a female voice. It was the girl with pink hair from last night. The one that called Edd a dork during his unconscious state, and referred to the quartet as 'things'. "Why are you letting them into the hideout?" she asked as she pointed them out.

"My thoughts exactly..." Eddy muttered under his breath. This girl gave off a vibe similar to Ed's 'baby sister', Sarah. He could already tell things might not go well between the two of them. Though he had to admit, this girl was a lot cuter than Sarah.

"Because they're one of us." Leone answered with her hands on her hips smiling. Not exactly approving of the statement, the pink haired girl walked up to the group.

"I haven't approved of them yet..." she said as she began to look them over.

"_Wh-What is this?_" Tatsumi thought to himself as the girl looked him over with a cold stare. After a few seconds, she then moved on to examining Ed, then Edd, and finally Eddy. She was especially curious about Eddy, for he was the shortest out of all the males. In fact, he was only a few inches taller than she was. The girl then turned away from the group with her eyes closed.

"Fail." She said as she crossed her arms and proceeded to point out each of their flaws. She pointed to Ed first. "I saw you bust through the wall in the mansion last night. You're too scatterbrained." she said. Ed only smiled and chuckled as he remembered him doing exactly as she said last night. "Yup! That was me alrighty~!" he replied.

The girl looked over to Edd and pointed at him. "You're too skinny and fragile looking. I almost couldn't even tell if you were a boy or a girl!" she said. Edd's golden yellow eyes widened for a second before he narrowed them at her. "Well, that was certainly uncalled for..." he sighed. Eddy snickered at the girls statement. She at least had a sense of humor comparable to his own, that was for sure.

She then pointed to Eddy. "You're too short. I doubt you could last thirty seconds out on the field." she said. Eddy's happy feeling was suddenly gone. His expression switched to a grumpy, hateful one as he pointed his finger back at her. "Oh yeah!? Look at you, you little runt!" he shouted. The sudden outburst made her jump a little. She then regained her composure and slapped Eddy's hand out of her face. "And you're too loud." she finished rubbing her ears

She finally reached Tatsumi. "And you...you just don't seem like you'd be able to fight with us professionals at all..." she said before she flashed a smug grin on her face "Based on your face." she finished. Tatsumi was angered by the statement. "What did you say, you..." Tatsumi replied clenching his fist. Before he could say anything too irrational, Leone spoke up

"Don't take it to heart you four. Mine treats everyone this way." she said. The girl known as Mine simply looked away from them. No matter how much she didn't like the newcomers, they were there. And she was being forced to have to get used to it.

* * *

Continuing their introduction to the rest of the members of Night Raid, Leone walked Ed, Edd, Eddy, n Tatsumi out to what Edd could guess was a dojo of some sort. The architecture finally cued him in that they were somewhere in the east hemisphere of the world. Most likely Japan.

"The training grounds here are good for stress release." Leone stated confirming Eddward's idea of the location being used for combat training. As they approached, Edd could also hear sounds coming from the field. It indicated to him that someone was out training at the moment.

"And over there, the one who looks like he reeks of sweat..." she started as she pointed to the man that was training. He appeared to be spinning some sort of staff over his head and around his body, and he was spinning it quite fast. Fast enough that it was kicking up sand and dirt from the ground below him He began shouting to psych himself up as he trained. "That's Bulat." Leone finished. Tatsumi was staring at him wide eyed.

"_Amazing...What great form!_" he thought to himself. This man was clearly in the spirit of what he was doing. The man continued to vigorously swing and twirl the staff around before he turned and swung the staff one last time. The amount of force he put into it was so great, it kicked up numerous waves of dust. The air current from the final strike made Leone's, Ed's, Edd's, Eddy's, and Tatsumi's hair rustle. The man then stood still and took a breather before turning and looking at them. He wore his hair in a style Ed, Edd, and Eddy had never even seen before. The man looked at the latter of them and smiled.

"Oh? You must be the kids from the other day..." Bulat spoke as he began walking up to them.

"How do you know who we are?" Tatsumi asked in curiosity

"Huh? Ah, this is your first time seeing me this way. I'm the guy who was covered in the armor." he replied. This surprised Tatsumi and the Eds. Especially Edd and Eddy, who had passed out during their encounter with him last night. Bulat then reached his hand out towards them as he introduced himself.

"I'm Bulat...Nice to meet you all." he said with a smile.

"L-Likewise." Tatsumi said as he reached out and shook his hand. The Eds were a little hesitant since he was still covered in sweat, but they then took the chance and grabbed his hand also. They had been through worse. Once you've fallen in Ed's tub full of gravy, something like this didn't seem so bad.

"He's gay." Leone quickly added as they shook Bulat's hand. This caused Tatsumi to jump a little. Eddy quickly retracted his had and put it over his face trying desperately not to laugh at Tatsumi's reaction. Though he wasn't gay, Jimmy hadn't exactly been a prime candidate to list on the 'normal' factor. Then again, most people he knew couldn't be considered normal. Ed, and Edd were caught a little off guard by this fact, but it wasn't enough to stop them from shaking Bulat's hand in respect

"Hey, now..." Bulat started as he looked at the four. "They'll get the wrong idea, right?" he said with blush in his cheeks as he stared at them. **That **was the moment Edd, Ed, and Tatsumi pulled their hands away.

"_He isn't denying it!_" the four of them thought to themselves with expressions of both shock, and disturbance.

* * *

After their encounter with Bulat, Leone walked them out of the training grounds and back into the forest. They approached a nearby stream. Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi weren't sure who was out here, or why Leone brought them out this far for that matter. As they continued their walk, they soon came across another character that they could only guess was part of Night Raid. It was the green haired male they spotted through the mansion window from last night. He laid low on the ground staring at the water laughing to himself. By the looks of it, he hadn't detected their presence yet.

"It's almost time for Miss Leone's bath..." he said as he chuckled to himself. He then stood up and clenched his fist assuring that he was set for this occasion. There was a tiny drop of drool hanging out of the left corner of his mouth.

"I won't be fazed by danger, if it's for a sight of those breasts!" he said to himself. He certainly hadn't noticed the group of five that had just silently creeped up behind him. Leone interrupted his pep talk and spoke with annoyance in her tone.

"Then how about I break two fingers?" Leone said causing the green haired boy to jump. He had just been caught in the act. His expression switched to one that could be read as 'he screwed up'. Just as she promised, Leone grabbed his hand and with her strength, began crushing them in her hand. The male screamed in pain as he fell to the ground with his arms locked behind him.

"You never learn, Lubbock" Leone said as she held his arms behind him preventing him from moving

"Damn it! I can still make it..." the male known as Lubbock said through the pain of her stepping on his back

"Then your arm's next." Leone threatened as she pulled on his arm tighter causing him to grunt in pain. Tatsumi could only stare at the guy in disbelief. Ed, Edd, and Eddy were wide eyed after getting a good look at the boy. He reminded them very much of a friend back at home. Leone then turned her head to the four and spoke up again

"That aside, this idiot's Lubbock" she introduced smiling back at the group.

"_You wouldn't happen to be related to Roscco in any way, would you?" _Edd and Eddy mentally asked as they stared at him. After slightly torturing Lubbock for a few minutes, Leone let him go and lead Tatsumi, Eddy, Ed, and Edd off and on with the rest of their tour.

* * *

By now, the sun was starting to set. Leone, Tatsumi, Edd, Ed, and Eddy walked along a rocky riverbank. The stream (which had fed into the river) ran along their left, while a short cliff-side ran along their right. There was only one more character that had yet to be 'formally' introduced to the four of them. The introductions had taken up an entire day, and all they had been doing is walking from place to place escorted by Leone, who was greeting them to the strange array of assassins.

"And next is-" Leone started before getting cut off by Tatsumi. "I've already had enough." the boy said as he and the Eds trudged alongside of her.

"Well, next up is a pretty lady, so look forward to it." Leone giggled before hoping that bit of info would lift their spirits. After walking a few yards, they came to an in-cove in the cliff-side. Leone looked over towards her right and pointed at a familiar face.

"See? Over there's Akame." Leone introduced. Ed, Edd, Eddy and Tatsumi focused their gaze over to the girl, and also something that greatly disturbed Edd and Eddy. A large bird like creature was roasting over a large open fire. It appeared that Akame had impaled the large creature with a skewer. It's tongue hung out of it's beak as she cooked it over the fire she made. As they took their gaze off of the beast that was being cooked in front of them, they saw Akame, who was sitting in front of the fire already eating a cooked wing from this massive bird.

"Isn't she cute?" Leone added. This caused Akame to turn her head and look back at the group as she was in the middle of taking another bite out of her meal.

"How..." Tatsumi started before he realized just what Akame was dining upon. "Is that a devil bird?" he asked as he looked at the said danger beast roasting. "She killed it alone?" Tatsumi asked looking at Leone. Leone then began to explain Akame's history to the four.

"Despite Akame's looks, she grew up in the wild." Leone stated before Akame turned back and looked at her

"You should also eat, Leone." Akame said as she tossed a cooked wing at her. Leone reached out and caught it before thanking her. After offering Leone a share of her catch, Akame then turned and stared at the four boys standing beside Leone for s second or two before speaking.

"Have you decided to join us?" Akame asked the four of them. Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi were slightly caught off guard from this question. After seeing so many weird personalities today, they had almost forgotten why they were even being shown around in the first place. The quartet mulled the question over a bit before responding.

"Not yet..." Edd replied. He wasn't expecting Akame to fully understand what the four had been through. Especially not what he, Ed, and Eddy had been through for the past few days. He did hope that Akame would understand his response given the situation they had been put in however. Akame's response on the other hand revealed that she had only asked the question for a completely different reason.

"Then I can't give you four some of this meat." Akame responded slightly holding her cooked wing out towards them.

"_That's alright with me_..." Eddy thought to himself as he stared in disbelief at how oblivious she was to their current situation.

"_She's tried to kill us twice now...I don't like her._" Tatsumi thought to himself as he watched Akame holding the bone of the Devil Birds wing in her mouth. Leone walked up beside Akame and began talking to her.

"Hey, you look dressed up tonight." she pointed out. Edd hadn't noticed it before, but she did look different than she did during their mind boggling encounter last night. He had to admit that despite her attitude and history, she looked cute.

"The boss has come back." Akame replied looking at the fire. This caught the attention of all five of them.

"Boss?" Ed asked looking at Akame. Leone then turned and spotted another figure sitting in a chair. She was surprised to see her considering the idea that she might had just been sitting there the entire time watching.

"Oh! Boss!" Leone greeted. A young, silver haired woman sat in a chair off to the side of Akame. She had an eye patch over her right eye. Her left eye was purple. She wore black pants and a black shirt. Her most distinctive feature however, was that her right arm was covered in some kind of metal machinery. From what Eddward could deduce, she must had injured her arm fighting some kind of battle, and this served as assistance for her right arm. Eddy stomped on Ed's foot causing Ed to look down at him. He was greeted with a sinister look from Eddy that pretty much read _"Don't say anything about this"_. Ed must have gotten the message, because he simply smiled and winked at Eddy and flashed him the okay sign with his hand.

"Yo!" the young, silver haired female replied.

"Welcome back! Did you bring any presents?" Leone joked as she walked up to her offering her a high five. The woman then interrupted her with a question.

"Before that, Leone, Three days ago, it seems you exceeded the time limit on the job." she started as she slowly raised her right hand as she smiled. It trembled indicating that she was feeling some sort of annoyance and anger.

"_Crap!_" was all Leone thought to herself as she froze in her tracks. She then immediately whizzed past Ed, and Eddy as she tried to run away from the supposed wrath she was about to endure. Eddy was impressed by her speed. She was quick on her feet like he was. suddenly, out of the corner of his, Tatsumi's, Eddward's, and Ed's eyes, an object whizzed past them catching the four off guard as it flew towards the fleeing Leone. Leone yelped before getting knocked backward onto the ground by the object. This object had latched onto the back of her clothing and began to reel her in. Ed, Edd, Eddy and Tatsumi realized that the woman had actually launched part of her arm. Leone pouted as she was dragged along the ground. As amazed as the four of them were, they did their best to keep quiet. Even Ed, who wanted to so desperately compliment the woman on how cool her arm was, knew he had to force himself to do so at a later time.

"It isn't good to enjoy fighting your enemies too much." the woman said as she continued to reel her in. "You should fix that habit."

"_Speaking of fixing..._" Eddy thought to himself as he cringed at the sound her arm made as she lured Leone closer to her.

"I get it, so please do something about that creaking!" Leone complained hinting to Eddy that she didn't like the sound anymore than he did. The woman then let go of Leone after reeling her back in towards the group

"Anyway, who're these young men?" she asked glancing at the four males. Leone sprung up off the ground and grabbed both Tatsumi's, and Ed's shoulders.

"Boss, these guy's have some serious notable talent!"Leone answered smiling

"Hey, stop that!" Tatsumi complained looking at Leone. He was tired of all the hype being pushed onto them. Unfortunately for him, this peaked the boss's interest even more

They're promising?" she asked looking them over for herself. Eddy prayed that she wouldn't be as annoying as Mine was in her review from earlier that day. Leone then flashed a calm, assuring look at her. "They are." she answered. The woman continued to glare at them. So far, it was going a lot better than Mine's review Eddy thought to himself. Or so he thought. Leone then gave Eddy a small nudge forward.

"Well you guys, just give it a try. Okay?" she encouraged

"What is this? A part-time job?!" Eddy rudely replied. All the while, Akame just stared at the group of six. The boss then stood up out of her chair and wrapped a jacket that she had hanging on the back of her chair around her.

"Akame, gather the others." the boss ordered before she began to walk off. "I want your report, along with more details on these young men."

Ed, Tatsumi, Edd, and Eddy looked at her as she walked off. Now that all introductions were through, things were finally starting to get to business.

* * *

Soon after assisting Akame with cleaning up her cooking site, she, along with Leone, Tatsumi, Ed, Eddward, and Eddy reported back to Night Raid's hideout. They stood in a room similar to the one they had first encountered Sheele and Mine in that morning. All of the members of Night raid gathered around as their boss sat in a large chair facing them all

"I see. I understand your situations" she started before holding out her right hand. "Eddward, Tatsumi, Ed, and Eddy. Would you like to join Night Raid?" she asked

"If we decline, we're dead, right?" Tatsumi asked looking down at her hand

"No, that isn't the case." she began to explain. "But that doesn't mean we can let you all go. We'll employ you in our workshop. Regardless, you four won't be killed if you decline. With that in mind, what do you say?"

The four males stood there for a few seconds thinking things through. Ed had to push his usual thoughts of dancing chickens out of his mind for the time being. They was being offered an opportunity to join a group of assassins that, as the guards from Aria's mansion had explained, terrorized the Imperial Capital.

"I..." Tatsumi started clenching his fist by his side. Ed, Edd, and Eddy looked over to him. "I was supposed to go to the imperial capital, and make my name, so I could save my village from destitution. But the capital was..."

"Tatsumi..." Bulat spoke with his arms crossed. "This country is impoverished and suffers because the center is venal. Don't you want to attack the problem at the root?" he asked before he looked up at him. "As a man?"

By now, Edd was becoming more and more convinced. Even though this current situation really had nothing to do with them, they had to choose wisely about this. After telling them the same story they told Aria and their parents, their answer had to be logical. The boss then spoke up

"Originally, Bulat was a skilled imperial soldier. But then he discovered the corruption, and became one of us." she explained. Edd was interested by this bit of info. "_So even someone who used to work for this government was able to come to the sense of fighting for justice..._" he thought to himself. Bulat began to speak again

"Our job is to eliminate the evil in the capital. This is far better than working for the debased!"

Eddy then decided to put his two-sense in. "Just killin' the bad guys won't change the world, will it?" he asked. Tatsumi agreed with him

"At this rate, other places like my village won't ever be saved." Tatsumi added

"I see." The boss answered. "Then you four fit even more perfectly with Night Raid."

"Wh-Why would that be?" Edd asked. By now, Ed was having a tough time keeping track of everything that was going on. He simply decided to loosely listen to whatever came out of peoples mouths at that point

"Far to the south of the capital is a camp of the Revolutionary Army, an anti-imperial force." she explained

"Revolutionary Army?" Ed asked. He threw in a question to at least make it look like he was paying attention.

"The Revolutionary Army started small, but has grown into a large organization. They needed to create a group to carry out covert operations, such as assassination and gathering information. That is us, Night Raid." she further explained. "Right now, we're merely exterminating the capital's ticks. Once we mobilize, we'll use the ensuing confusion to reach the corruptions source, the prime minister, and kill him with these hands."

"Kill 'em with these hands, eh~?" Eddy said looking at her hand as she clenched it into a fist

"When that moment comes, this country will change." she assured staring at him. Tatsumi then thought her words over in his mind for a few seconds before he spoke

"Will this new country treat its citizens well?" he asked.

"Of course." the boss replied. Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy then looked around at the members once more. "I see...Amazing." Tatsumi complimented.

"So the killing you do now is basically finding the bad guys and takin' out the trash." Eddy commented. Ed then began to jump up and down excitedly as his head began to piece together what was being portrayed in front of him.

"Oh! Oh! I get it! In other words, you're assassins of justice!" Ed shouted with glimmers in his eyes. This caused the boss, Lubbock, Mine, Bulat, Leone, and Sheele to all bust out laughing at his accusation. The four looked around in confusion as everyone but Akame laughed.

"Wh-What is it? What's so funny?" Tatsumi asked as Akame stared at the group. Leone flashed a dark look and smiled mischievously before speaking.

"Ed, Edd, Tatsumi, Eddy...No matter how you spin it, we commit murder." she said as the glared at them

"There's no justice in something like that." Sheele chimed in

"Everyone here could die at any moment, as retribution for our actions." Bulat stated. As scary as the thoughts were, they were the cold truth

"Ah, how naive. Even in a century, they wouldn't be ready to join us." Mine taunted. This aggravated Eddy to the point he spoke to her between clenched teeth.

"You little brat, you ain't seen nothing the Eds can do!" Eddy hissed at her. Mine simply shrugged Eddy's statement off to the side. It was then that Tatsumi spoke up.

"Wait a second." he said causing Mine to stop in her tracks and look back at them. "I..." Tatsumi started before the boss gave him a reminder of why each of the members stood here. "Each of us has a reason to fight. But we're all prepared. Do you four have the same resolve?"

"We will be compensated, won't we?" Tatsumi asked. All of a sudden, Eddy's temper lowered a bit. Compensation was something Eddy had almost completely forgotten about. Past the view of being an assassin was the fact that this was also a job opportunity. He could finally make some money. But was it worth risking his friends lives as well as his life?

"You will." the boss answered. "If you work hard Tatsumi, I'm sure you'll be able to save your village. And as for you, Ed boys, I'm sure you three will be able to return home."

"Then I'll do it! Let me join Night Raid!" Tatsumi declared. This was a chance to do what he had promised his village he'd do ever since he left home. He would not only be helping his village, but the entire country. Eddward was the next one to give his answer.

"You are all trying to bring order to the corruption of this capital as well as trying to look out for the well being of the nation. As someone who upholds moral standards similar to caring for the well beings of others and a fighter for peace and equality, I solemnly agree to take part in this endeavor. Miss, I, Eddward, shall join you all in Night Raid." Edd declared. They were all impressed at his drawn out statement. Next on the list of giving opinions was none other then Ed.

"Private Do Not Enter Is Ready For Duty, Chief!" Ed shouted as he saluted the silver haired woman sitting in the chair. Lubbock snickered at Ed. He had to agree, his antics were amusing. He was sure with these guys around, things might become a lot less dull around here. Last but not least, it was Eddy's turn. Eddy simply threw his hands up in the air and turned around.

"FORGET IT! I AIN'T DOIN' IT!" he stated completely catching Tatsumi, Ed, and Edd off guard. Eddy then turned and started walking off. Edd and Ed ran after him as they began trying to convince him what he was saying was a big mistake.

"EXCUSE ME!? Eddy! In case you haven't noticed, these people **need **our assistance!" Edd argued standing in front of Eddy

"Sock-head, in case you've forgotten, I'm trying to make it back home and NOT be in a body bag." Eddy retorted

"But Eddy! Our trio!" Ed shouted running around him in panic.

"Whelp lumpy, it ain't too late to back out ya know." Eddy said. Edd then grabbed Eddy's arm and began whispering in his ear.

"Eddy, in case **you've** forgotten, we're homeless in this new world. There's an offer for shelter, the provision of food and pay directly in front of us!" Edd whispered in his ear. Eddy then pulled his head towards his face and whispered back to him. "News flash Eisenstein. I'm allergic to this five letter word called DEATH." he replied before pushing both Ed and Edd away from him and walking out of the room. Leone then looked at Edd and Ed before she spoke.

"...Is he always like that?" she asked with her arms crossed

"No. Eddy is soft and cuddly, but he comes with yelling. LOT'S AND LO-" Ed started shouting before Edd covered his mouth with his hand and interrupted.

"Please excuse Ed, for he has a...erm, tendency to exaggerate the truth at times. Though I do have one last trick up my sleeve that may change Eddy's mind." Edd stated catching everyone's attention.

"Oh, I'd love to see that~" Lubbock said looking out the doorway Eddy departed from. Edd then cleared his throat before speaking aloud.

"VERY WELL THEN, EDDY. ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM. BUT I GUESS THAT MEANS MINE'S STATEMENT ABOUT YOU NOT BEING READY IN-" Edd managed to say before Eddy bolted back into the room at breakneck speed. As soon as he heard the name "Mine", he instantly changed his mind. To everyone in the room, he appeared as just a blue blur that swept across their vision. He was so fast, even Akame was a little surprised at how quickly he managed to return He had managed to trample over Edd and Ed as he ran up to the boss of Night Raid. He then stopped directly in front of her holding his hand out.

"Where do I sign up~?" Eddy asked His sudden reappearance make her jump back in her seat slightly. Lubbock, Tatsumi, Sheele, and Bulat stared at Ed and Edd as they laid on the ground in pain. Well, Edd was in pain. As Ed laid underneath Edd, he simply laughed saying "Do it again~!". Edd slowly managed to pick himself back up and dust himself off. Ed immediately sprang up from the ground. Leone covered her mouth trying to hold in laughter. Mine on the other hand simply wanted to ignore the idiocy that was going on and simply spoke to Tatsumi.

"You know, you might not be able to return to your village." Mine said looking at him over her shoulder. She kept her back towards the four.

"That's fine." Tatsumi said looking away from Edd, and Edd and towards her. "As long as everyone in the village can live happily..."

The boss then closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them up again, holding out her right hand, and speaking. "It's decided, then. Welcome to the life of carnage. Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy. This meeting is adjourned for tonight." She then turn her attention to Akame. "Akame, you'll be in charge of training these four." This badly startled Tatsumi, Edd, and Eddy. as they turned and looked at her. "If they become burdens, you're free to kill them." the boss finished

"Okay. Got it." Akame simply replied horrifying the three of them even more.

"_What do you mean, "Got it"?_" They thought to themselves. Their reactions caused Leone to laugh as she wrapped her arm around Eddy and looked at all four of them.

"Work hard, so you don't die!" she smiled. Edd quickly looked at Akame, who simply stared back at him. Edd unconsciously started to blush a bit. "_I'm going to be teamed up with her?"_ he thought to himself. Though Eddy was blushing himself from all the close contact he'd been getting with Leone all day, he was the only one who noticed Edd's face

* * *

A day or two had gone by since Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy were inaugurated into Night Raid. So far, all they had been doing was hanging around the base and doing simple things such as chores. Edd and Eddy were assisting Tatsumi in the kitchen by washing dishes. Tatsumi stood over the sink skinning potatoes in preparation for dinner time. While he did so, he thought back to when his friends were still alive. Back to when he was still in the village.

"_Let's learn as many skills as possible_" Sayo said as she stood to Tatsumi's left over a medium size pot cooking a stew of some sort. Ieyasu stood to Tatsumi's right and was frying food in a giant skillet.

"_If we're knowledgeable about food, we can avoid shortfalls of provisions_" Ieyasu said looking at him. Tatsumi now stood over the sink in the kitchen of Night Raid thinking to himself. "_Sayo...Ieyasu...I'm so grateful I know how to cook._" he thought to himself before he was interrupted by a voice that belonged to none other than Mine.

"Aren't you done with my seconds?" Mine impatiently wined as she sat at the end of the table

"Oh! Me, too!" Bulat added sitting to Mine's right

"And me!" Lubbock added sitting to Mine's left

"Please~!" Sheele also added into the demand for seconds

"More for me, thank you!" Even Ed had joined in as he sat to Bulat's right

"_It's like I'm only here to cook!_" Tatsumi thought to himself aggravated. Edd and Eddy didn't feel too differently about their current situation as the plates to be washed and cleaned piled up beside them.

"Damn it! I'm supposed to be an assassin, but day after day, I'm cooking!" Tatsumi complained to himself as he begun peeling an apple

"It can't be helped. After all, I'm in charge of the food" Akame said as she began picking and eating grapes that had been freshly washed by Edd. She had also been in the kitchen along with him and the Eds. Her long, black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore a pint apron with some sort of cat on it. Edd couldn't help but gaze at how cute she looked.

"You're in charge of the food so you can snack on everything, huh?" Tatsumi asked her

"That isn't true." Akame replied as she continued to snack on the grapes

"That's not remotely convincing." Tatsumi sighed. As he was about to go back to peeling the apples, Mine began speaking to him.

"That outfit really suits a newbie like you." she taunted causing Tatsumi to crush the apple out of anger. The apple exploded in his hand.

What did you say?!" Tatsumi asked

"Tatsumi! Augh..Messy messy messy" Edd said wiping off mashed apple bits that had landed on his apron. He then noticed that there was some that had landed on the back of his hand. He softly licked it off. Akame couldn't help but relate this act to that similar of a cat. She thought it was kind of cute, though her expression didn't show it.

"Hey, guys." Bulat greeted as he held a black cape that was slung over his right shoulder. He stood among Mine, Sheele, and Lubbock. It appeared that they were about to leave somewhere.

"Bulat. Huh? Are you all going somewhere?" Tatsumi asked wiping away the mess he had made in his left hand.

"Yeah. We're on an emergency assignment." Bulat responded

"An assignment? What about us?" Eddy asked. This question only resulted in more ridicule from Mine

"The newbies can stay home!" she said pointing at the three of them. She then turned her attention solely towards Tatsumi "Just keep chopping those cucumbers or whatever!"

"_Why does she mess with me so much?_" he thought to himself as Mine laughed at him

"Bye, now!" Mine taunted as she walked away with a smug grin on her face. Like Eddy, Tatsumi was really beginning to hate this girl.

* * *

After chores in the kitchen were finished, Akame took Ed, Edd, and Tatsumi out to an area in the forest. Eddy on the other hand had decided to take his break and stayed back at the base. This place had six large waterfalls running down a cliff-side that fed into a small lake below. The water was blue and crystal clear.

"It's nice here." Ed chimed as he stared at the water pounding the lake below. Behind them, Akame pulled off her tie.

"Today, we'll gather out prey from this lake." she explained. The three looked behind them in time to see that Akame was taking her shirt off. Ed grinned mindlessly, and Edd's face immediately began to burn beat red from the blush his face was starting to show. He quickly found the means to pull his hat over his eyes. Tatsumi began to panic at the action and accidentally stumbled backwards over Ed's foot. As Akame dropped her skirt, Tatsumi then covered his eyes. Akame simply looked at Edd and Tatsumi.

"Why are you two panicking?" she asked. Tatsumi and Edd uncovered their eyes to see Akame standing before them in a white two piece bikini. This calmed Tatsumi at least. Edd was still shaky. She looked beautiful. In fact, she looked even better than Nazz in his opinion. He didn't know much about Akame at this point, but he could feel himself becoming attracted to her.

"Oh, you're in a swimsuit..." Tatsumi sighed in relief. Akame then simply walked past the group towards the water.

"Our objective today is Koga tuna. This is the best location" Akame said

"Aren't those the mysterious, rare, and vigilant fish?" Tatsumi asked looking back at her. Akame then leaped unto the air and did a front flip before swan diving into the water. Edd snapped out of his minor trance when he saw her.

"Oh my, well isn't she athletic?" he said as he walked up to the waters edge along with Ed. The three of them stared down at the water for a few seconds before at least three fish came flying out of the water and straight towards them. They looked up at the fish as they flew overhead awestruck as they realized what Akame was doing.

"S-Super fishing?" Tatsumi stammered. And to add to the incredible event, the fish landed right into the basket Akame had left on the shore. Edd had never seen something so impressive. Just then, Akame broke through the surface and breathed in fresh air. She looked up at Tatsumi, Ed, and Eddward.

"Dive into the depths of the lake, and mask your presence. The moment your prey comes by, attack. Commitment is the key" she explained. "Can you three do it?" she asked. Tatsumi smiled and set down his basket before taking his sweater off. Edd took off his orange shirt, red socks, and shoes off, but left his purple shorts and black beanie hat on. Ed took something out of his jacket before tossing it aside. It resembled a skeleton of some sort of fish. It was none other than his lucky fish charm, Angus. He took his red and white shirt, socks, and shoes off and and tied his lucky charm around his neck.

"Bring it on!" Tatsumi shouted as he ran into the water ready to prove himself that he was capable of doing something as 'simple' as catching fish. Edd slowly walked into the water. Akame wondered why he didn't take off his hat, but quickly ignored that fact when a shadow flew overhead of her. Ed had jumped high into the air and performed a belly flop into the water. "Cocka-doodle-do!" was all Ed shouted before he broke through the surface with a painful sounding splash. The competition was on. It was time for them to catch some fish.

* * *

Hours passed before it was time for them to return back to base. It was soon diner time and everyone gathered around the table. A large fish head sat on a plate in the middle of the table. Eddy thought to himself of how much it resembled one of Rolf's many customs. Though he really didn't know much about the farmer boy. It just seemed like something he would do.

"So...In the end, Tatsumi and Ed only caught two fish." the boss spoke as she cut the piece of fish that laid on her plate. Tatsumi simply looked down in embarrassment at that bit of truth. So far, he hadn't proved too much to the members of Night Raid. Ed on the other hand was too busy enjoying his meal to even care about that fact. As long as there was "Food for Ed", he was happy. The boss then turned and looked at Edd. "And Eddward caught six fish." she said with a smile. Eddy almost spat out his food when he heard that. Edd managed to accomplish a physical task without the assistance of a gadget or his help. He looked at his beanie wearing friend and wondered what drove him into doing so well. Right next to Edd sat Akame, who was holding one of the fish heads from Edd's fish. She looked down staring into its eyes.

"I heard you tore your clothes off and yelled, "Bring it on!"" Leone teased

"You and Ed are still far too naive." Akame stated continuing to stare at the fish head. Tatsumi then looked up at her.

"_Damn it. I never know what she's thinking...I still don't like her!_" he thought to himself. The boss turned her attention away from Edd to Leone

"Then, Leone, let's hear your job." she asked

"Here we go." Leone replied as she slid two pictures across the table to her. "The targets this time are Ogre, of the imperial police, and Gamal, an oil merchant. According to our client...Gamal the oil merchant has been paying Ogre a huge amount in bribes." she explained as the recited everything the client had told her. "Every time Gamal commits a crime, Ogre fabricates lies so he can frame another." Leone explained how the clients fiance was also framed and sentenced to death. She wanted Night Raid to somehow rectify this wrongdoing.

"_Understood. I'll send them both to hell_" was what Leone promised the client. Leone then pulled out a medium size bag and set it on the table. The sounds of money could be heard rustling in the bag. Eddy drooled at the sound.

"This is the payment." Leone said as she crossed her arms

"That's quite a lot." Tatsumi said standing up from his seat.

"I sensed pain..." Leone replied gripping onto her right arm "She probably sold her body many times to earn this."

That caught Eddy, Edd's, Tatsumi's, and even Eds attention. This woman really was desperate for their assistance.

"No way..." Tatsumi muttered in disbelief

"Have you verified the case?" the boss asked. Leone then looked up at her and answered. "I checked with my own eyes and ears. They're guilty." Leone affirmed. the boss then pulled out a cigarette and a silver zippo lighter

"Alright then. Night Raid accepts this case. We won't need any abhorrent garbage in the new country. We shall bestow divine punishment." she said holding the cigarette in her left hand.

"The merchant, Gamal, should be easy. But Ogre will be a formidable opponent." Leone explained "Ogre the demon. He's a highly skilled swordsman that even criminals fear. Normally, he's surrounded by lackeys, and is rarely alone. Additionally, he's cautious. When accepting the hush money, he invites Gamal into his room. When he's off duty, he drinks on Main Street"

Tatsumi, Ed, and Edd finally made the connection. "It seems when he's off duty is the only time to strike." Tatsumi stated

"But the police are strict in the vicinity of the palace." the boss spoke. "It would be dangerous for someone like Akame, whose face is publicly known."

Leone then sprang up out of her seat and raised her hand. "Hey, hey! I'm not on any wanted posters!" she chimed aloud. The boss looked up at her.

"Can you do it?" she asked.

"The stronger the enemy, the more I'm up for it!" Leone replied grinning happily.

"Why not wait for Mine and the rest?" Akame asked facing her boss.

"But we don't know when they'll return, right?" Edd asked. Akame looked over to him and simply nodded her head showing that she understood his logic. Tatsumi could already see what Edd was trying to get at. He was trying to grab at the opportunity of getting them an assignment so they could truly prove their worth. Tatsumi joined in on Eddwards debate.

"Then, let's just do it ourselves!" Tatsumi exclaimed. This caught the attention of the boss. "Oh? Are you four saying you'll defeat ogre?"

"Eh?" Ed asked looking around. He really hadn't been following anybody at all the entire time.

"Yeah. That was some big talk. You guys better take responsibility for those words!" Leone said grinning at Tatsumi

"Huh?" Tatsumi began to panic. He didn't think that they would just send those four alone to handle the task. Luckily, Akame interjected the conversation.

"Right now, this job is beyond you four." Akame stated. Eddy got up our of his seat and protested.

"Don't underestimate us!" Eddy said "We're all skilled with our weapons!". This wasn't exactly true at all. The only one out of the four of them with any actual combat skill was Tatsumi with his sword. He, Edd, and Ed only fought out of desperation to keep Aria safe back when they thought her and her family were innocent. Still, Eddy didn't like to be shown up. He'd prove that he was better than everyone

"I'm saying that you won't be able to kill." Akame explained. Eddy tried to concur, but Akame cut him off. "You four struck out of hatred. Are you saying you can kill without hesitation, at any time?" Eddward's hands began to tremble a bit. As much as he didn't like killing one bit, he knew that he had come too far in to back out now. He decided to answer Akame's question

"Even while we sit here...Others may get framed, right? If that's so, then I'll do it!" the yellow haired, beanie sporting male answered. His response had a strong sense of justice in it. "Beloved people, taken away for ludicrous reasons...I don't want **anyone** else to feel this way!"

The boss then crushed her cigarette in an ash bowl that sat in front of her on the table before she stood up.

"Then it's decided. Eddward, Tatsumi, Eddy, Ed, actualize your determinations." she said as she held her right hand out. "Eliminate Ogre."

Edd was about to thank her for the mission when Leone walked over and elbowed him in the side. "Nicely said, Edd! I'm sure you guys will show great resolve!"

"Leone and Akame, deal with the oil merchant." the boss ordered.

"Got it!" Leone replied

"Roger that." Akame replied getting up out of her seat and walking away. Tatsumi wasn't about to let Eddward steal all of the credit. He then spoke to Akame before she had left the room. "How's that, Akame? When we take a stand, we do it seriously!"

Akame didn't even turn around to face him. She stared ahead when she spoke. "After completing your task and making your report, you'll be considered legitimate." She then turned her head and looked back at him. "At this point, arrogance will only result in death." Tatsumi was uncomfortable at how coldly she said that line as she walked off. They had gotten themselves into this assignment, and they had to see it through to the end.

"_Damn it... No matter what, I'll succeed and win their respect._" he thought to himself

* * *

After Tatsumi and the Eds made sure they were equipped, they headed out with Leone into the capital. They soon stood in front of what looked like a large cove lined with shops.

"This is Main Street. You guys have the map memorized, right?" Leone asked the four of them.

"Yeah, we know it." Eddy answered. After an hour of studying the Main Street map back at the base, Tatsumi, Edd, and even Eddy had successfully memorized the layout of Main Street. Ed was the only one who hadn't fully memorized the map, but he would be sticking with the three of them the entire time anyway, so he was safe for now. Before they had left base, Eddy and Edd made a point to tell him that it was very important to be on his guard. Ed promised his chumps that he would be on his A-game. Tatsumi, Eddy and Edd only stared ahead towards Main Street. They couldn't get Akame's words out of their heads.

"_At this point, arrogance will only result in death._" they thought to themselves. Leone looked at the three and could tell that they were stressed at the moment. She knew that this wasn't a moment for playing around. She looked ahead as she decided to speak to them.

"Guys, about Akame's past...When Akame was a child, the capital bought her sister and her." she began. Eddy, Ed, Tatsumi and Edd were interested to hear that she had a sister. They hadn't known this information before, but then again, they still didn't know too much about anything on the members of Night Raid.

"She and other children, in similar circumstances, were forced into a program for assassins, and were trained to kill. She survived that cruel experience and she emerged as an assassin who could fully carry out the capital's orders. However, as Akame continued to fulfill missions, she began to sense the capital's darkness. And her target at the time, our boss, ended up persuading her to defect and join the Revolutionary Army, which truly fought for citizens. But by this time, most of her comrades that grew up with her had died." she finished before she looked back at them. "I'm sure you all understand."

Tatsumi folded his arms and looked off to the side. "Basically, you're that we're too complacent for being professional killers."

Leone smiled a little bit. That wasn't exactly what she was saying at all, but he could have possibly answered worse.

"Well, if you guys are successful today, you'll understand." Leone assured as she turned her attention back to Main Street. Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy did the same. It was time for their first mission to begin.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Moments later, their mission had already become a go. On Akame and Leone's side, they had snuck into a traditional Japanese themed bar. A large, grotesque looking figure known as Gamal walked through the halls of the bar. By the way he was acting, one could tell that he had been drinking.

"Whew! Now that I feel refreshed from the bathroom, perhaps I'll ask to have another go." he said to himself as he wiped his hands dry with a white towel. Suddenly, two paws reached out from out of the shadows. It was none other than Leone, and she was going in for the kill. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began to choke him quiet.

"Yeah. I'll give you another go, Gamal!" the said crushing his throat. Akame then ran in and stabbed Gamal through the heart with her sword instantly killing him. "Two girls at once, you lucky dog." Leone taunted as she let go of his neck. Akame withdrew her sword from out of his chest allowing Gamal to fall dead to the ground.

"Now then, I wonder how Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi are doing with the other target." Leone asked. Akame simply stared off to the side. Even she couldn't help but wonder how the four new recruits might be doing on their first assassination.

Meanwhile, outside in the open of Main Street, Ogre walked alone. He was smiling as he was done with his work for the day and was out to go relax. He had just walked out of a bar and was slightly drunk at the moment.

"Phew...After an intense interrogation, a drink sure hits the spot." he said as he had a little sway in his steps. Tatsumi, Eddy, Edd, and Ed watched from an ally-way. They were ready to execute their plan.

"Pardon...Ogre, sir?" Edd asked from the ally-way as he walked by. He, along with Ed, Tatsumi, and Eddy were all wearing white cloaks over themselves. However, Eddy, Ed, and Tatsumi hid deeper into the ally-way as they watched and prepared.

"Huh?" Ogre asked as he looked behind him and saw Double D standing behind him with his hands clasped together.

"There's something I'd like for you to hear." Edd spoke. This caused Ogre to turn around fully and speak to him.

"What is it? Say it." he replied looking down at the male. Edd had a hood pulled over his head making it to where Ogre could not see his eyes. Though in his drunken state, he wasn't exactly cautious about this fact. Edd looked from side to side before speaking to him. "I shouldn't in public." he responded. "Please, follow me."

"Hmmm?" he asked as he was prepared to follow Edd. Minutes later, Edd had managed to get Ogre out of Main Street and into a dark, empty street. Eddy, Tatsumi, and Ed hid in a new ally-way close to his position. It was dark outside now, so this made the setting much more preferable for executing a kill.

"_I sense other presences...but I'm sure they are just a few ally cats. They tend to come out around here..." _Ogre thought to himself as he stood behind Edd with his arms crossed. The effects of intoxication were starting to wear off, and Eddward could tell it in his voice as he spoke to him.

"Hey, kid! This place should be fine." Ogre said looking down at him

"Right, yes.." Edd responded looking back at him from the corner of his eye. Edd flicked his wrist a bit serving as a signal for Ed, Edd, and Tatsumi to attack. This notion wasn't noticed by ogre. Tatsumi did a small mental prayer before he prepared to kill. "_Ieyasu, Sayo, lend us your strength._" Tatsumi prayed. Ed, Eddy, and Tatsumi leapt out of the shadows next to Double D and executed their plan. They got onto their hands and knees on the ground and bowed down before Ogre.

"We beg you! Please recruit us into the Imperial Army! We have to earn enough money to back to our village!" all four of them began to beg. Ogre was shocked when he realized his judgement on the identity of the extra presences was wrong. Though these were four young boys who were pleading to be let into the Imperial Army in his mind to save their homes. He didn't see anything too wrong with it. He simply sighed and placed his hand on his head.

"I figured it was something like that. Go through the normal application process, idiots!" he said as he turned around and begun walking off. Turning his back to the four of them was just the opportunity they had been looking for.

But...in this recession, the acceptance rate is too competitive." Tatsumi said as he quietly reached to his side and began drawing his sword. Eddy did the same as he made his Blade gloves materialize a giant buzz saw blade. Edd followed through by making his Boomerang gloves materialize a giant, golden boomerang. Ed kept low to the ground, but hid his hands as he begun to make electricity crackle from his Elec gloves. When Ogre heard Tatsumi speak, he stopped in his tracks and replied to his complaint, albeit, without looking back at them.

"It can't be helped" he replied. It turns out, he didn't need to look back to tell that something fishy was going on. He placed his right hand on the handle of his sword. Everyone suddenly froze. A bead of sweat rolled down Eddy's face. Ogre than began to speak up again.

"You kids don't have enough strength!" he said as he spun around and slashed his sword at the group. Blood flew into the air. As it turns out, Tatsumi and Eddy had ducked and rushed past Ogre while slashing his sides. Ogre stood impressed at the speed of the two males.

"What speed..And those faces show no fear." he thought to himself "To think, there's someone who would defy me like this" he thought as he clenched his sides and fell flat onto the ground and bled out. Ed and Eddy were impressed. They had just killed their first target, and it had gone by in a heart beat. Tatsumi looked behind him at Ogre as he laid.

"We did it!" he began to cheer when he noticed that Double D was still on high alert. He had taken up Akame's words with the utmost care. It was right at that split second Tatsumi remembered what Akame had said.

"_After completing your task and making your report, you'll be considered legitimate._"

"Oh, that's right. We have to report this at once." he said as he turned his attention off of Ogre and walked up to Ed, and Eddy. Unfortunately for them,

they couldn't spot Ogre quickly rising up off the ground and readying to swing his sword at the three of them. Edd let out a horrifying shout telling the three of them to look out. Tatsumi, Ed, and Eddy turned their heads and were terrified to see the behemoth Ogre swing directly at them. Ed ducked behind Tatsumi and Eddy as they swung their own blades to counter Ogre's strike. Now Tatsumi understood why Edd was still on his guard. Edd had known that a man of that size who wore armor would not simply go down with just two strikes to the sides. Eddy and Tatsumi successfully blocked the swing, but it sent them, along with Ed, flying backwards. They managed to land on their feet, but as soon as they looked up, Ogre was already on top of them.

"To think that I, the great Ogre, could possibly be defeated by some measly twerps!" he shouted as he continued his assault on the three. Eddy and Tatsumi were doing a great job in blocking all of his strikes, but the clashing metal made it too hard for Ed to get a clear shot to fire electricity at Ogre without accidentally hitting one of his friends. Even though Eddy and Tatsumi were holding their own at the moment, they agreed that they'd feel a lot stronger if Edd was helping out. Speaking of which, Edd was ready to strike, but was having trouble getting his legs to actually start running. Of all times for fear to freeze him, it couldn't get any worse than this.

Ogre then pulled his sword behind him and let loose a powerful attack that sent Eddy, Tatsumi, and Ed crashing into a wall.

"I bet you're part of the organization that opposes the authorities. You're members of Night Raid, aren't you?" Ogre asked looking at the three. Tatsumi, Ed, and Eddy looked up at him. "A weakling's concerns don't matter. In this city, only the strong prevail. I'M THE ONE THAT DETERMINES OTHERS' FATES! I WON'T TOLERATE BEING JUDGED!"

This statement angered Edd. All of a sudden, all fear left Edd's body. He rocketed towards Ogre and jumped high into the air bringing his large boomerang down in an overhead strike.

"STOP SPEWING NONSENSE!" Edd shouted coming in hot on his target. Ogre put his sword up and blocked his strike. The momentum behind Edd made his strike a lot more powerful, as he was just a few inches from his face before Ogre brought his sword, along with Eddward and his boomerang, crashing down into the ground. Edd managed to land on his feet, but the impact left a small crater around the two of them. Ogre was now over-top of him. The tables had turned out of his favor. Edd struggled to keep his guard up.

"Exactly who is your client?" Ogre asked. "If it's recent, it must be the fiancee of the guy I just took out." Tatsumi's, Eddy's, Ed's, and Edd's eyes widened upon hearing this. He was openly admitting to them that he had killed their clients husband. Ogre could tell by their expressions that he had hit the nail right on the head.

"I'm right, huh? I knew I should have taken care of her then, too...No, it wouldn't be too late even now." Ogre continued. "First, I'll find that woman. Then I'll frame her entire family, and murder them, one by one, in front of her eyes. After I kill all of you, of course!"

That line there gave the four of them the anger they needed to get up and finally finish this guy off. Tatsumi joined Edd by his side and jumped high into the air. As they did so, they quickly struck Ogre's arms and managed to completely sever them off. His arms and sword flew into the air along with large amounts of blood.

"_These guys are all the same._" Tatsumi thought to himself.

"_They take power, gained by authority,_" Edd continued in his thoughts

"_And use it for themselves!_" Eddy further continued in his thoughts

"_I will eradicate_" Ed said mentally continuing the line of mental quotes. Suddenly, Tatsumi, Edd, Eddy, and Ed flashed extremely dark expressions towards Ogre as they came down with a unified final strike

"_Trash like you from this world!_" they all finished at the same time Tatsumi, Edd, and Eddy all slashed their blades at the same time cutting Ogre in several different places. Ed clenched his hand into an electrified fist a brought it down on top of Ogre both electrocuting him , and causing his body to explode open sending blood flying everywhere. Ogre fell to the ground with a heavy thud behind where each of the boys had landed. All four of them put away their weapons as they walked away from their victim.

"**It's all ogre now**" Ed said as he walked away alongside of his friends

* * *

Half an hour later, Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy returned to base where they gave their boss a full report on what had happened. Leone and Akame stood next to them while they were in the room.

"I commend you four for successfully eliminating the target. Very good." she congratulated.

"Thank you!" Tatsumi and Edd cheerfully replied. Tatsumi looked over to Akame and spoke to her. "What do you think, Akame?" Eddy looked over to Leone and joined in on the gloat. "We completed the report, and finished the task! And kicked Ogre's ass!"

"And we made it through without a scratch..." Edd said taking a bow towards Akame. With that said, Akame quickly rushed over to Edd and lifted his shirt up and off of his body. This completely shocked Edd and the other males that stood behind him. "Huh?! W-What is this?! A-Akame, what are you d-doing?!" he asked with his face completely red from both embarrassment and blush.

"Leone..Boss..Hold them down." Akame insisted before she pulled Edd's shorts down showing his black boxers. Edd pulled his had down over his eyes and yelped quite adorably. "Wh-What is this?!" he asked as Akame circled around him examining his body. Once she was finished, Akame stood before him. Edd slightly lifted his beanie up from over his eyes and looked back at her. His face still red.

"Thank goodness." Akame said. However, she didn't say it with her usual emotionless facial expression. This time, she looked at Edd with a soft, warm smile and a bit of blush in her cheeks."A friend once died because he was too proud to report his wounds, and they were filled with poison." she explained. "I'm glad to know that none of you were wounded. First missions have a high mortality rate." she reached her hand out to Edd. "You four have done well!"

"Th-Thank you..." Edd responded reaching his hand out to meet Akame's. He grabbed her hand. Her skin was soft. He liked her touch. Leone threw her arms around Eddy, Tatsumi, and Ed before she spoke up.

"Akame was hard on you guys because she didn't want you all to die." Leone smiled

"Cooking is all about communication." the boss added in as she stood with her arms folded. "The art of assassination is learned by hunting prey. Haven't any of you realized that all of it was part of your training?"

This caught Eddy and Tatsumi off guard. All of a sudden, those tasks that they found useless before didn't seem that useless after all. They looked over to Akame. They had owed her an apology.

"Sorry, Akame." Eddy said kicking the ground as he nuzzled under Leone's arm.

"We misunderstood." Tatsumi finished

"It's fine." Akame replied looking at Eddward before she looked over to the rest of them. "Just keep coming back alive, Ed, Tatsumi, Eddy, Eddward..."

"Right...From now on, I hope we can work together, Akame." Edd replied. He hadn't noticed it, but he was still holding on to Akame's hand. Leone and Eddy snickered as they began to joke around.

"What, exactly, are you working on together undressed?" Leone teased as she squirmed holding Eddy.

"Pffft. Double D, I never knew ya' had it in you~" Eddy snickered

"Hint hint wink wink, Double D~!" Ed laughed. All of these gestures made Double D's face practically start to glow red from embarrassment. Though Leone and Ed found it as just a joke, Eddy had finally come to realize that Edd might just have the hots for Akame.

"Pardon me, but you people are the ones who stripped me!" Edd retorted looking at the group and finally letting go of Akame's hand. The boss then spoke up.

"Okay. Next, you four will be trained by Mine. Do your best." she said. Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi didn't like that news one bit. Especially not Tatsumi. Leone placed her hand on Tatsumi's shoulder.

"It's one thing after the another, isn't it?" she mocked. Ed only smiled and laughed. The way Ed was Mine, she was like another baby sister.

"WITH HER?!" Tatsumi shouted. Meanwhile, just outside the base, Bulat, Sheele, Lubbock, and Mine were returning. Mine heard the shout of dismay and froze in her tracks. She turned her head around and looked in the direction of the scream.

"I just got a sudden chill..." Mine said before she turned back to walking with her group. Little did she know about the experience that was waiting to unfold for her the next day


	4. Ch4: Kill Your Cares (Ed ver)

Ch. 4: Kill Your Cares (Ed ver.)

It was a dark, cloudy morning. Just an hour before now, Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, Eddy, and almost all the other members of Night Raid were fast asleep. It wasn't until their slumber was interrupted when their boss, and Lubbock had woken them all up claiming there was an emergency. An hour after this unexpected awakening, Akame, Eddward, Bulat, Leone, Eddy, Tatsumi, Lubbock, Ed, Mine, and Sheele found themselves running through the forest that surrounded the bases location at high speeds carrying out...whatever their boss had directed them to do. As they sprinted through the thick forest, Edd surprisingly noticed that he didn't struggle keeping up with people as much as he used back to back in his old dimension. It could possibly be because of his body's new build in this media, or the training he had been through the past few days that had built up his stamina, or both. It didn't matter though. There were more important matters to wonder about at the moment. He continued to run alongside everybody as he darted through the greenery. As he did so, he thought back to why he was even up this early in the first place. The reason made him shudder a bit. The base was facing the threat of intruders

"_How many intruders, and where are they?_" the boss asked as she sat in her chair with her hands folded under her chin.

"_According to my barrier's signal, apparently eight. They're all in the vicinity of our base._" Lubbock had reported. This news slightly worried her. So many of them had managed to get into the vicinity without warning.

"_I have to commend them for sniffing this place out_." she said. "_They're probably assassins from one of the surrounding tribes. Move out. Do not let any escape." _she said finishing her orders. She made a point to show how serious this was and her tone showed it. And with that, they had left off to deal with the intruders.

As Edd continued running, Akame and Bulat looked at each other before they executed the set attack plan they had in mind before they left. Lubbock split off of Akame's left and into the trees. Bulat, along with Tatsumi and Eddy, had split off of Akame's right and into the bushes. Edd had decided to stay alongside of Akame to serve as potential back-up. Eddy didn't let Edd's choice go unnoticed. As Eddy and Tatsumi ran beside Bulat, he looked over at the two and spoke to them.

"You guys still aren't used to combat with groups. Don't push yourselves! First, you should concentrate on gaining first-hand battlefield experience." Bulat explained as Tatsumi and Eddy fixated their attentions on him as they sprinted alongside him

"Right." Tatsumi replied confirming that he understood his words

"Gotcha' big guy." Eddy replied running similar to how he normally did back in his old world. Tatsumi and Bulat were too fixated on the path ahead to notice his posture at the moment. As they continued to run, a bush suddenly blocked Tatsumi's and Eddy's view of Bulat for a split second. Seconds later, they passed it by. However, in the short amount of seconds they had lost visual contact with him, Bulat had managed to move a lot closer to the two. The sudden distance closure slightly surprised the two of them.

"Big guy, eh? That reminds me, when you guys refer to me, call me "Bro" or "Handsome." Bulat said as he pointed to himself as he looked down at Tatsumi. He had already come to agreement with letting Eddy refer to him as "Big guy."

"Got it, Bro." Tatsumi replied grinning back at Bulat. Bulat was pleased with himself to have the new underlings refer to him by nicknames.

"All right! That feels great!" he cheered as he continued running. Tatsumi and Eddy looked at him before looking at each other and grinning. Despite the seriousness of the threat they were facing right then, they were managing to have a good time while all of this was going on.

"In return, I'll show you guys something awesome." Bulat said as he then picked up some more speed allowing him to bypass Eddy and Tatsumi before skidding to a stop and placing his hand on the ground. Tatsumi and Eddy stopped before he turned and looked at them. Bulat inhaled before shouting something aloud.

"Incursio!" Bulat shouted as a bright light began to envelope him. A familiar looking armor began to materialize around his body. Tatsumi and Eddy were awestruck at the transformation going on before them. The armor known as Incursio began attaching itself to Bulat's body at incredible speeds. When all the armor had attached into its proper place, the eyes of Incursio glistened. Bulat grabbed the staff that was now slung around his back and twirled it before quickly (and possibly too dramatically) striking a finishing pose. This was his weapon of choice.

"Woah, amazing!" Tatsumi shouted impressed at what he had just seen unfold before his eyes.

"Holy cow!" Eddy shouted. He was just as impressed as Tatsumi was. Possibly even more impressed. And that was with everything he had seen Ed do in his life so far

"Right? This is the Imperial Arm Incursio." Bulat replied. He was happy to see the two found him to be so cool. Though after a transformation like that, it would be hard not to see him that way. Though the second half of Bulat's response raised a question in Tatsumi's and Eddy's minds.

"Imperial Arm?" Tatsumi asked in curiosity. "I don't really get it, but I'm fired up!" Eddy added in. Through all the running and the awesomeness that was Bulat, their spirits were raised ten fold.

"Oh? You two understand it's awesomeness?" Bulat cheerfully replied as he flexed in his armor. Despite how little time Bulat, Tatsumi, and Eddy had known each other, the three of them were managing to get along very well. Suddenly, all three of them got very quiet. They looked around the forest, scanning for any other life that could possibly be in their vicinity. The sky was still cloudy and the wind began blowing leaves loose and off the branches of the trees bringing back the seriousness of the moment.

"The enemy..." Tatsumi said to himself surveying the forest around him

"Let's go. Be sure to take a good look at the Imperial Arm's power you two." Bulat responded as he readied to continue on to locate the intruders infiltrating the premises.

* * *

Elsewhere, Akame and Edd had run into a clearing along the shore banks of the river. It was there that they encountered three of the intruders. None of them wore any shirts. However, the intruders did have what appeared to be long scarfs wrapped around their necks and heads. One of the intruders held a giant cleaver in his hand, the other held a sword, and the third one held a hoop like object. They stared the two of them down as they spoke to each other.

"That's one of the faces from the wanted posters." one of the intruders said referring to Akame. "It appears Night Raid's secret base is close."

"She's pretty cute. A weak looking dork like him shouldn't even be fighting alongside her." another one of the intruders spoke referring to Edd. He flicked his wrist and materialized a giant golden boomerang, showing that he was not to be messed with. He found their remarks to not only be very rude, but to be an insult. He could take being called weak. His friends would joke about it back at home. But the intruders calling Akame cute, he didn't like it one bit. "Make sure you don't wound her too badly-"

In almost less than a second, Akame had rushed past all three of the intruders. Edd could see a sudden splash of blood fly through the air. The intruders were temporarily stunned at how fast she had struck them. They muttered a bit before Akame spoke without even turning to face them

"You lowered your guard far too much for enemy territory." she said looking straight ahead. Two of the guards began trembling where they stood.

"She's way too fast-" one of them started before both of their throats busted open spewing blood. They both collapsed to the ground with their weapons still in hand. The third intruder was both shocked and angry at how easily they were being taken down. He held onto his throat as he turned around and faced Akame. "Damn it! I'll at least take her with me!" he said. This statement had proven he completely forgot about Double D's presence. A big mistake on his part. As he readied his weapon and tried to run at Akame, he suddenly froze in his tracks. He could feel a sharp pain in his heart. Soon, strange symbols began forming in the area Akame had struck him in. The symbols began to spread to other parts of his body. Eddward didn't know what to make of this at first, but what the intruder said hinted him of what was causing this reaction.

"Cursed poison from my wounds?" he asked. As he said that, Akame put her sword away. "One slice, certain death." she said as she looked back at him. The intruder continued to stand there as the poison spread throughout his body and was quickly killing him. He incredibly was still trying to fight for his life as he slowly continued trying to make his way to Akame. Eddward saw this as a chance to act and with a swing to the head, Edd impaled him through the skull with his giant, golden boomerang. He knew for sure that the intruder wouldn't have survived something like that, no matter what media they were in. Edd then jerked the boomerang out of the intruders skull and let his body fall limp to the ground.

_ "I have been a member of Night Raid for only a few days so far, and I am already becoming used to ending peoples lives..."_ he thought to himself. It still scared him a little, but he reminded himself of why he was doing this in the first place. _"It's all for the greater good of humanity in this world...and to get home..."_ he thought to himself as he stood looking down at the man as his body bled out on the rocky river shoreline

* * *

In another section of the forest, one of the intruders ran along another dirt path. He was grinning and speaking to himself as he continued running along.

"They've noticed our infiltration..." he said as he ran swiftly down the road "But we've confirmed that Night Raid's secret base is here. That information alone is worth a great deal."

Little did he know that far off in the distance, a member of Night Raid was watching him making his retreat attempt. The member was none other than Mine. She tracked his movement through a red scope lens that she wore over her left eye as she laid in a few scrubs alongside of a cliff ledge. She had her massive gun aimed straight in his general direction and kept it on him.

"Looks like they've gotten pretty far." she said to herself as she maid sure her aim was precise. Once she had found the perfect aim, she quickly stood up and out of the shrubs and loaded her gun.

"I don't really like being seen, but..." she began saying aloud to herself. She hadn't turned around to notice that an intruder had managed to sneak up on her. She hadn't been concealing herself properly, and it looked like she was about to pay the price for it. The intruder leaped up high into the air and pulled his sword out of it's sheath and brought it behind his head as he was about to swing at her. A large grin made it's way across Mine's face for what appeared to be no apparent reason at first, though it was suddenly clear that Mine had known about this intruders presence and how he was about to strike her. She had her guard down on purpose.

"I'VE GOT YOU!" the intruder shouted out as he began coming down over-top of her. It hadn't occurred to this person that she had purposely let her guard down for a reason. Mine suddenly ducked down before two large scissor blades snapped shut on both of the sides of the intruder. The blades completely severed him in half causing the intruder to scream in pain as blood flew from out of the mid-section of his body. Another Night Raid member had been concealed the entire time and had made the perfect opportunity to strike. That someone was Sheele. As she sliced him in half, Sheele looked up at him. A dark expression could partially be seen behind her eyes

"My apologies." she said as the intruders blood splattered through the air. Mine simply looked back at her through the corner of her eye and smiled

"Thank you, Sheele." Mine began before she raised her gun once more. "That was a nice pinch. That risk was enough to reach him!"

As she said that, her gun began to load up energy and the tip began to glow. A second later, a large, powerful beam shot out of the barrel and flew straight for it's target. As the intruder, who was still running along the dirt path, noticed the glow out of the corner of his eye, he didn't have enough time to evade the attack. He screamed out loudly as the shot struck him and literally vaporized his entire body. From where Sheele and Mine stood, all they could see was smoke coming from the spot the intruder once stood. Another intruder had been successfully killed thanks to their teamwork.

"All right...Bulls-eye~. The more trouble we're in, the greater Pumpkin's firepower." Mine explained as she and Sheele continued to watch the smoke rise from the forest.

In another location, the impact from Mine's shot did not go unnoticed. Leone and Ed had just gotten finished killing intruders of their own when they heard the loud explosion. Ed looked around and held his hand out over his forehead as he looked around to try and discern the sounds origin. His Elec. gloves were covered in blood. Leone's cat ear twitched slightly once she finally heard the explosion.

"Oh? That was Mine's Pumpkin. I'm surprised she'd use such an annoying Imperial Arm..." she said as she sat atop the bodies of the intruders she and Ed killed. She raised her right hand and looked down at it. Her hands had turned into paws with sharp claws to boot, and they were covered in her victims blood. "In my case, I simply turn into a beast and hit people. So simple!"

"Just like mashed potatoes!" Ed chimed as he turned and looked at her with a large smile across his face. Leone wasn't sure if he was being funny, or if he was legit in his statement. It didn't matter though, she laughed at his remark anyway

* * *

Inside of a cave in another section of the forest, Lubbock was handling his own business. He had captured another intruder on his own and ensnared her in a web or very thin, sharp, shiny looking strings that were controlled by the movements of his hands and fingers. As he flexed his right hand closed, the strings constricted and sliced into the victim tighter and tighter.

"I thought the resistance on the strings was light. So, you're a girl." he said as he watched the female intruder he had ensnared in his trap. The female wore many cloths just as the other two intruders had been wearing. Unfortunately, none of these cloths were wrapped around her arms, allowing the strings to easily slice into her flesh.

"Please save me! I'll do anything!" she begged out to him with tears in her eyes. Lubbock didn't even give her plea a single thought before he responded

"Nope." he started "I knew someone who died because they fell for a woman's charms." And with that, he tightened the last of his strings and completely sliced her body into sections. Her body hung limp as blood trickled down her boots before Lubbock released the strain and let her body fall onto the cavern ground. He then retracted his string back into a spool that was attached to the back of his gloves as he faced away from her. As he began to walk off, he took one last look back at her before putting one of his hands on his head and sighing a breath of disappointment. This woman just so happened to be young, and very beautiful looking. Being the sucker he was for females of that sort, he couldn't help but feel down. His job had called for him to take such actions.

"Aw, such a waste. This job really sucks at times like this..." he sighed as he began walking away once more.

* * *

Back with Bulat, Tatsumi, and Eddy

Each of them were occupied with the task of handling a set of intruders on their own. Tatsumi was currently squaring off against an intruder who appeared to be wearing some kind of animal head over his own in an attempt to conceal his identity. Tatsumi struck him clean across the chest as he lunged at him causing the intruder to fall down dead onto his back. Tatsumi then took the time to take a breather. He had just killed two intruders on his own, and there was still more work to be done.

He looked off to the distance, where Eddy was currently holding his own against the intruders he was tasked with fighting. One was down and another one still continued to be a problem. As much as Eddy wanted to shout out and taunt his enemy while he was fighting, he stayed silent and concentrated on the enemies movements. There was a time and pace for everything, and he wanted to be seen performing at peak condition. As the intruder he was facing against raised his weapon to strike Eddy overhead, he threw his saw blade at his mid-section and sliced him in half before it continued its current path of flight and got stuck in the trunk of a nearby tree. Blood and stomach acid poured out of the intruders body as he fell to the ground. Eddy smirked as he looked down at the dying victim before walking over to a tree where his saw blade had stopped and pulled it loose.

"Pretty smooth, huh? I impress even myself~" Eddy smiled and gloated looking at Tatsumi. When Tatsumi didn't respond was when Eddy decided to look around. He could see that Tatsumi had his sights fixated on a new subject, and that someone was Bulat. He stood in the middle of a small clearing making no sudden movements as six intruders ran laps around him in hopes of catching him off of his guard in order to make a clean strike. In sudden unison, all six of them leaped up into the air towards Bulat with their weapons ready.

"Bro!" Tatsumi and Eddy shouted out as the intruders closed in on him. Being airborne like they were, they couldn't do much of anything except for defend, or strike. Neither would matter in the end, for Bulat and his Incursio were on a completely different level of physical strength than these intruders. The eye plates of Incursio flashed bright before Bulat grabbed his staff and began to rapidly spin it around his body. In fact, he spun it so fast, the blade of the staff literally shredded up the enemies into nothing but pulp and blood. When he was finished, there was nothing left of the intruders. Their blood rained down from the air onto Bulat's armor and the ground around him.

"S-strong..." Tatsumi stammered as he and Eddy looked at him. They weren't aware that what just unfolded before them was even possible. None the less, it only increased their respect for Bulat and his awesomeness. "This is Night Raid's power?"

"So you survived, Ed, Edd, Eddy, Tatsumi." Bulat said as he deactivated his armor. Tatsumi and Eddy snapped out of their trance and looked around to see that Sheele, Leone, Mine, Ed, Akame, Edd, and Lubbock had regrouped.

"Y-Yeah." Tatsumi replied. As they regrouped, Ed ran up to Eddy and swung him around in circles, much to his dismay. His hands and arms were covered in blood, but the sight of his friends was almost always something that would make him forget about other cares in the world.

"Eddy! You should have seen Leone! She crushed their necks and we beat 'em good! The evil spy assassin scum is no more!" Ed shouted as he laughed. Though he didn't like Ed hugging him, hearing about his experience did excite him however.

"Yeah!? Well you shoulda seen Bro' over here! He took on six of those suckers by himself and shredded them into pulp!" Eddy said as he smiled and slid out of Eds grip before putting his arm around Eds neck "This guy is an animal I tell ya'!"

As all of this was going on, Edd and Tatsumi began talking with the rest of the members of Night Raid.

"Good! That means you're showing promise, you four." Bulat complimented while giving them a thumbs up.

"Right!" Tatsumi and Edd exclaimed happily. So far, they were making up to be great assets to the team. They hoped they could keep it that way

* * *

During the events of fighting and killing the intruders, Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi hadn't realized just how far they had strayed from base. By the time they returned, it was night. Now all the members had dispersed into their own rooms and slept. After a hectic day like today, not too many people were awake. Tatsumi laid in bed in his room. He could hear the owl's hooting in the night. He rolled off of his side and onto his back before opening his eyes, staring up at the ceiling as thoughts began running through his head.

"_Assassins...and the need for revolution. Night Raid._" he thought to himself. "Apparently, I joined an amazing group." he said to himself before closing his eyes. As he did so, his mind pictured Bulat smiling at him and giving him a thumbs up. This startled him to the point of making him sit straight up in bed. His cheeks were flushed as he panted.

"_Why did I just picture Bro's face?_" he thought to himself as he shuddered. He took a breath to calm himself down before looking over at a chair across the room from him. His sword rested on that chair. As he stared at it, he began remembering the past again. More moments with his friends Ieyasu, and Sayo before they left home. He remembered the three of them standing around a table inside his house looking over a map as they planned to depart for the capital. The capital that they hadn't known much about with all of its corruption.

...

_"This is where the capital is." _Sayo said pointing to a canal that ran through one of the walls of the capital. It lead straight to the heart of the capital

_"The vast castle walls that protect the capital, the trade ships that go up and down the canals."_ Ieyasu hyped. There were a lot of things and sights in the capital that they couldn't wait to see for themselves

"_There's a lot to look forward to." _Tatsumi added as he looked down at the map. Ieyasu covered his mouth as he began to chuckle.

_"Especially all the hot babes there."_ Ieyasu chuckled. "_Yeah!"_ Tatsumi agreed. This irritated Sayo to the point of punching Ieyasu in the face.

_"So gross!" _she shouted at him as she folded her arms

_"Why just me?" _Ieyasu complained holding his nose from the pain of Sayo's punch. Tatsumi simply laughed at the unequal treatment

...

Tatsumi eventually looked away from his sword and up out the window.

"_Sayo...Ieyasu...I'm gonna do my best._" Tatsumi thought to himself as he tried to get a good nights sleep

...

Meanwhile, Ed, Edd, and Eddy were in their room. All of their thoughts were over both getting back home, and everything that had happened earlier today. As Edd laid in his bed looking out the window, he would think about how he had stabbed the intruder through the head with his boomerang. As he did so, he couldn't help but wonder why he had done that. Akame was perfectly capable of killing all three of them by herself. Was it just the fear from still being a newcomer in the group of assassins and trying to prove his worth? Was it out of the anger from the spy assassins attempting to 'flirt' with Akame? Or was it that he just wanted to show her that he could be useful personally? As he thought over this more and more, he came to the realization that alot of his thoughts were tying into Akame. Eddward rubbed his fingers through his hair furiously as he blushed at the fact that he was falling more and more for the girl. Edd had always been clumsy and sometimes speechless around the opposite sex, but around her, all of a sudden the things he did were starting to have much more of a purpose. At least in his mind anyway. Perhaps it was his unconscious desire to show out and catch her attention. Fortunately, Edd's furious hair rustling didn't go unnoticed. Eddy flipped over onto his side in bed and noticed his yellow haired friend. By the time of day, he could already tell what he was thinking about. Or who for that matter.

"So sock-head, thinking about that body of Akame's~?" Eddy teased causing Eddward's face to turn red.

"Eddy, please!" Edd nearly shouted in response while looking at him. "There is more to her than just her looks. Or should I bring up the topic of you and Leone?"

"Huh? What about me and Leone?" Eddy asked with a smirk as he looked at the back of his hand. "She's the one who's always grabbing onto me you know."

"And you're the one who blushes in response." Edd replied "She knows that you sort of have a thing for her, Eddy."

Eddy sat there thinking to himself. He didn't think his blush would be taken so seriously, then again, he was starting to like Leone himself. She liked to keep things simple and straight. Something Eddy thought a girl could almost never do. In his words: A hot chick was flirting with him and he hadn't even made a single move.

"Hehe, yeah. She probably has a thing for me to. Can't blame her though, what girl would want to resist these Eddy charms anyway~?" Eddy responded with a smug little grin before turning to Ed, who was standing and facing a wall. Throughout the they had returned to base from their hunt today up until now, Edd and Eddy were trying to get Ed to open a portal. If he could manage to do so, then they could hopefully explain to everyone the real reason they were in this world. "Yo blubber head, any luck yet?" Eddy asked. Ed was straining himself as he pressed his forehead against the wall. Edd was surprised that with all of his might that the wall didn't break.

"N-no such l-luck Eddy..." Ed said between pants. Sweat was running down his forehead. If this kept up, he might have had to take another shower. It was at that point Eddy told him to stop for the night.

"Looks like we ain't going anywhere anytime soon then." Eddy sighed as he watched Ed walk over to his bed and flop down on his back exhausted. As he stared up at the ceiling, he began to speak his mind.

"Hey Eddy? Double D? Do you think anybody at home is worried?" Ed asked. They hadn't given the possibility much thought lately, for they had been too preoccupied with other things. Now that they had the down time, Edd and Eddy thought about the possibilities of what was going on in their media. Back then, it was all about scamming the neighborhood children for money in order to buy jawbreakers without getting beat up by the other kids. That along with trying to make it through school and trying to avoid the Kanker sisters at at all costs. With their new skills, pulling off those tasks would probably be next to nothing for them. Still, what would Johnny, Plank, Jimmy, Sarah, Kevin, Rolf, Nazz, The Kankers, their parents, or any of the other kids be wondering about their disappearance? There was no doubt in their minds that they hadn't noticed their absence by now.

"I...honestly don't know, Ed. I'm sure they are out looking about right now as we speak." Edd responded. He knew that for a fact, but they wouldn't know where in the world to look. They weren't even in the same world anymore. Edd had had enough for the day and rolled over onto his left side and faced the window. "Though I hate to be the one to say this, it's best not to think too much about it right now. Let's get some shut eye and try to look forward to new day." he finished. Minutes later, he would doze off. Eddy would soon do the same as he rolled onto his right side facing a wall. Ed pulled the covers up over his body and slept on his back. All they could do is try their hardest and do whatever they thought could work to open up a gate back home. In this media, there was no such luck.

Back in their world however...

* * *

Ed, Edd, and Eddy's parents had called only hours after they had left through the portal on Ed's wall in his room. Conveniently, all of them had been requested on business trips for their jobs and wouldn't be back for a while. However, while summer was only beginning, the kids of the cul-de-sac would take notice of their absence. A day without Ed, Edd, or Eddy was enough to raise suspicion for everyone, but with the duration of time the trio had been gone for, it raised complete panic in everyone. Kevin, Rolf, Johnny, Plank, Sarah, Nazz, Jimmy, Lee, Marie, May, and even Roscco had become scared about what could have possibly happened with the three Eds. After another day of Summer Camp, they would go out searching for the Eds. This was something everyone was desperate to do when they got back home each day. They would search the junkyard, the forest, and any other locations they could find. Now they were starting to lose both hope and sanity. Kevin, who was the self appointed leader at this point, planned to hold a conference at the playground with everybody to discuss just what they would do. As the last of the children arrived, Kevin would stick a toothpick in his mouth before stepping up onto a soap box and begin speaking. In this media, wears a long-sleeved lime green shirt, black shorts/shoes, and a red cap. He has light peach skin, and a red/orange tongue. Three red/orange strands of hair poked out of the front of his cap.

"Alright! Listen up! First off, to state the obvious. Ed, Edd, and Eddy have vanished without a trace. We've searched almost every square inch of this neighborhood without finding **anything. **We're running out of options. Does anybody have an idea on how we can extend out search?" Kevin asked

The rest of the children were silent for almost half a minute before Johnny raised his hand. Kevin simply sighed as he hung his head low. "Johnny, Captain Melon-head ain't about to do nothing for us."

Johnny simply hung his head low and softly kicked at the ground as he held on to his wooden pal, Plank. In this media, Johnny wears a white T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and black sandals. He also has dark brown skin, a bald head with many bristles of hair, and a green colored tongue. In his left hand, he held his wooden imaginary friend known as Plank. Plank is a yellow piece of wood with a blue curved line for his mouth, red circles for eyes, and blue dots for pupils. He also has a chip in the upper right corner of his head that he received during an incident where he wanted to be an engine piston.

"I have an idea." Roscco started. In this media, Roscco wears a black t-shirt with a white shinigami skull on the front along with black basketball shorts, and black and green shoes. Over his shirt, he wears a neon red jacket. He also has tan-ish skin, long neon green hair, which he wears pinned up in the back, creating three giant spikes, he has a blue colored tongue and a pair of shades propped on top of his head.

"We don't have summer camp on Sundays. Maybe we can take the go-carts from our Cul-de-sac smash tournament and go out looking for them. It can expand our dong- I mean search radius."

It had been a good few months since the kids had done their cul-de-sac smash tournament. Kevin had almost completely forgotten about the go-karts that they stored away in the junk yard. If they took them out while trying to search for the Eds, their chances of locating them might jump exponentially.

"Good thinking. Today's Friday, so when we get home from Summer camp tomorrow, we'll focus on fixing up the karts for Sunday." Kevin replied before stepping down from the soap box. "We've got our plan. Meeting adjourned."

As Rolf, Johnny, Jimmy, and Sarah walked home, the burden of wondering just where the Eds had gotten off to began to worry them even more.

"I have a confession to make." Jimmy said with tears in his eyes. "I've wished for something like this on almost every birthday. Could it have finally come true?"

Sarah simply hugged him in an attempt to comfort him. The Eds got on her nerves to, but even now the guilt had gotten to her. What if her big brother wasn't going to come back? What would their parents do if they returned home? All of these worries piled up in their heads. Unfortunately, they would soon have bigger things to worry about. Much much bigger things..."

* * *

Before they knew it, it was morning. And walking one of the halls in the hideout was none other than Sheele. As she walked down the morning light flooded hallway, she cleaned the lenses of her glasses with a piece of cloth before sticking them back onto her face. As she looked up and ahead of her, she spotted Tatsumi, Ed, Edd, and Eddy waiting at the doors outside of the meeting hall

"Is something the matter?" Sheele asked as she stuck her glasses back on her face.

"Oh, Sheele." Tatsumi responded as they turned and looked at her. "Well...we were told that we'd be working with Mine starting today. But we're still waiting for her to show up."

"Oh, Mine's not much of a morning person." Sheele replied as she opened the door to the meeting hall

"What? She can't even wake up for work?" Eddy grunted. It was summer, and on summer mornings, he loved to sleep in. If he managed to wake up and get downstairs on time, Mine should have no excuse.

"Looks that way. Shall I rouse her?" Sheele asked as she turned to head off to Mines' room. She was stopped by the voice of their boss, Najenda

"No that's their job." the boss spoke up

"Why us?!" Eddy and Tatsumi complained

"Tatsumi, Eddy, Eddward, Ed, you guys are Mines' subordinates today." She reasoned. "It's the subordinates job to get their superior."

Tatsumi and Eddy grunted before the group of four simply started walking the hallway up to Mines' room.

"Fine." Tatsumi and Eddy sighed. Sheele watched the four of them disappear from sight as they went to get Mine.

"Is that true?" Sheele asked Najenda. Najenda chuckled before giving her a response. "This is just another trial~."

"Eh?" was all Sheele could respond with. She was curious as to what her boss might be thinking.

...

Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi reached Mines' door minutes after leaving the meeting hall. Edd was about to make the suggestion of using common courtesy and knocking first, but Eddy simply told him to quit complaining

"Hey, Mine! Hurry and wake up alrea-" Tatsumi and Eddy said as he reached reached for the door handle and opened her door. His words were cut off by what he saw. Mine was bent forward in the middle of her room adjusting her bra strap. Neither Tatsumi, the Eds, or Mine moved those next few seconds. they just stared at each other. Seconds later, Mines' scream could be heard throughout the entire base before an explosion went off that shook the entire building. A beam of energy shot out of the side of the base busting a massive hole through the wall. This caught the attention of other members that were in different parts of the hideout. Off in the distance, smoke could be seen rising up and out of the trees where Mines' shot had finished traveling. Tatsumi, Eddy, Edd, and Ed had managed to duck out of the way just in time to avoid the blast from her Pumpkin, but the four of them were scared beyond belief.

"WHAT THE HELL!? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!?" Eddy shouted getting up off the ground rather pissed off. It was too early in the morning to end up dead, and he sure wasn't going to die by Mines' hands.

"Yes! That's why I shot at you guys!" Mine retorted holding her cannon. "How dare you dodge that, you pervs!"

"Pervs!?" Edd exclaimed. He wondered just how Mine saw the four of them since he joined Night Raid. This was her answer. Tatsumi jumped up and started talking back to Mine

"We were told to come wake...you up..." Tatsumi said. Unfortunately, his words didn't mean anything to her, as she had already began charging up her Pumpkin to fire at the four rookies again.

"Don't you know how to knock? You hicks?" she shouted as her gun completed its charging

"Mine, please! Have some decency woman!" Edd shouted hiding behind Ed. All Ed could think about was how alike she and Sarah were.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-" Eddy shouted as he ran towards her and jumped trying to grab a hold of her gun. Meanwhile, in the meeting hall below, Najenda sat at the table smoking a cigarette while Sheele sat at the opposite end reading a book. Leone came rushing into the meeting hall excited by all the activity going on.

"What was that? Is there some kind of festival?" Leone asked

"They're really going at it." Sheele said looking up at the ceiling

"Looks like the newbies are going to have more work to do." Najenda spoke blowing smoke out her mouth

* * *

An hour or so later, Mine, Ed, Edd, Tatsumi, and Eddy were down in the capital walking through the streets. As they walked, Edd and Tatsumi started taking more notice to their surroundings.

"_Now that I look more closely at the capital I admired so much, there are so many people with gloomy faces._" Tatsumi thought to himself.

"_My, I never took the time to notice this before, but the residents here seem to be very depressed."_ Edd thought to himself. Ed, Eddy, and Mine were further up ahead, and had stopped to wait for the two of them.

"Hey! Hey, peeping toms! What's taking you so long, you hicks?" Mine shouted grabbing their attention. As much as they didn't like her yelling in public, they had work to do.

"Today, you're following me around as my minions, aren't you?" Mine asked with her hands on her hips. "Minions!?" Ed, Eddy, and Tatsumi exclaimed. That wasn't the term they wanted to hear come out of her mouth. Then again, she was so full of herself, there was almost no avoiding it at this point.

"Isn't that what the boss told you?" Mine responded

"She just told us to learn from you!" Tatsumi answered. Mine simply twirled back around and began walking off. "Then that means you're my minions. Just hurry it up!"

"H-Hey, wai-" Tatsumi said before deciding to suck it up and follow after her. As they walked, Tatsumi asked Mine about the area around them.

"Hey, Mine...Doesn't it seem like lots of people are suffering?" he asked

"They're dealing with recession and the political realities of fear..." she started. "Only one social segment lives in prosperity. The rest of them are in slums. This is reality." she continued. It was at that point when Eddy seriously started to wonder just how a guy would make a buck here. At least he was being paid by Night Raid. As they continued moving, they passed by a shady ally-way. The whimpers of a little girl could he heard coming from the ally. It caught all five of their attention. They could see a little girl, possibly no older than 9, lifted up off the ground and pinned up against a wall by the throat by two men.

"Hey hey hey! What th' heck are you guys doin'!?" Eddy shouted as he began approaching them alongside of Edd. Their movements were immediately cut off when

Mine stepped in.

"Stop picking on the weak." Mine said stepping in front of them

"Who the hell are you guys?" one of the men asked

"This girl is a refugee." The other man explained pointing to the said girl, who was now curled up in a ball on the ground hiding her face in her hands. "She has to do what we say."

"And?" Mine responded. A sudden spike ran through the air around them. Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi could feel it. Apparently, so could the men, because they were beginning to feel uneasy around Mine.

"Tatsumi?" Mine asked calling him forth. "Right." Tatsumi replied. He didn't need any explaining done to know what he had to do. He quickly drew his sword and with a slash, cut their pants loose. The two men, embarrassed, quickly pulled their pants up onto their waists and hauled ass out of their sights. Once they were gone, Mine turned and began walking back towards the streets. The girl who had been curled up on the ground got up and tried speaking to her

"U-um, thank you-" she started. Mine however, was in no mood to hear her gratitude. "Don't thank me." she said cutting her off. "You need to learn how to protect yourself."

Ed watched her as they walked back out into the sunlight flooded streets. Not long after, Double D popped a question.

"By the way, is it alright for us to walk around during the day?" he asked. Mine obviously understood Edds' concern with that question because she answered him with no added sass.

"Well. those four are the only ones who have been seen." Mine responded looking over at a wall with wanted posters claiming to want the members dead or alive.

"I see..." Edd asked looking them over. Ed pointed out an unfamiliar face that was on one of the posters. A man on the middle poster. His hair was long, and messy.

"Who's the guy in the middle?" Ed asked looking him over

"Bulat." Mine answered

"Oh, Bulat..." Ed said as he, Tatsumi, Eddy, and Edd kept staring at the picture. It took a few seconds for their minds to register just how different he looked in this picture, and how he does now.

"B-Bro?" Tatsumi asked shocked at how the picture held almost no resemblance to the Bulat they knew now in terms of appearance.

"That's what he looked like when he was in the military. He changed his image after joining Night Raid." Mine stated. The four of them stood trying to picture his transition from back then, to the present.

"Ain't that going a bit far?" Eddy said in between snickers

"Th-This is like the worlds worst 'Before and After'." Edd commented

Anyway, this is why the five of us, who haven't been seen, have an assignment here. Got it?" Mine asked

"Bring it on!" Eddy said clenching his fist, excited to finally get things underway

"That's why you brought us, right?" Tatsumi grinned

"Good! Let's begin the investigation into the capital city's conditions!" Mine shouted, catching the attention of two near by bystanders in the process

"I haven't a clue what's going on guys!" Ed cheered

* * *

The entire time spent "investigating" the capital with Mine involved going out to and eating. Mine preferred the cream horn, which to Edds' relief was not stuffed with a bowling pin, shopping for clothing, in which Mine tested out new bras', an uncomfortable situation for Tatsumi and Edd, but somewhat of a break for Eddy, who thought "Woo hoo, PG 13." of the whole situation. They followed Mine as she went window shopping, and carried her purchases along the way, to a bakery, where she ordered some treats to take home, or in Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi's case, more baggage, and clothing shopping, where Mine asked for opinions on outfits. At least they weren't selling 'New Clothes', much to Edd and Eddy's joy. Hours later, the five of them rested at a cafe alongside one of the canals that ran through the city. The cherry blossom trees were in bloom as they rested.

"What a haul!" Mine sighed a breath of relief as she drank tea and ate some of the cake she ordered "For spring, pink clothes are best..."

"Yeah...right.." Eddy responded sitting next to Double D, face down on the table trying to relax after all the running around they did.

"We have to stretch our wings on our days off~" she continued

"I can't feel my lasagna guys!" Ed said out from underneath the pile of merchandise Mine had bought.

"Alright, mission complete!" Mine cheered. This is what made Tatsumi and Eddy snap.

"THE HELL? THAT WAS JUST SHOPPING!"They complained. Mine simply just punched the two of them and told them to lower their heads.

"I'm on top, and you're the bottom. A subordinate shouldn't talk back." she said standing over the two of them. She then started stepping on them. "You should be thankful you're carrying my packages!"

Eddy caught her foot and swung it aside allowing him the time to get up off the ground. "YOU AIN'T MY SUPERIOR! IT'S FOR TODAY YOU PINK HAIRED RUNT!"

"And this isn't any kind of training!" Tatsumi added in getting up off the ground

"Huh? You guys really thought you'd be on equal terms just like that?" Mine asked. "Sounds like you're confident with your weapons."

That was true enough for Tatsumi, but Ed, Edd, n Eddy had only been using them when they need to stay alive. Even Edd, who had built the gloves, hadn't run tests on them. They were still somewhat of a mystery to him.

"But compared to you guys, the number of battles we've faced is far too different." Mine said facing away from them with her head low.

"Try having a house slammed on top of you." Eddy muttered. Tatsumi clenched his fist and began talking. "Even I know that I'm not experienced enough, but I still have to keep moving forward. For Sayo and Ieyasu's' sake."

Mine looked back at Tatsumi out of the corner of her eye for a few seconds. Her cheeks had a little blush in them, but this was hardly noticed by anybody. "Hmph. It seems Akame, and Bulat have high hopes for you guys, but I wonder..."

As she trailed off in her thoughts, Ed looked around from within the giant pile of baggage he was buried in and noticed the citizens of the area were all flocking off somewhere.

"Where's everybody going?" Ed asked

"They're probably having a public execution." Mine answered. "In the capital, it happens all the time." she finished as she walked past the group. She motioned her hand signaling them to follow after her. After digging Ed out from underneath the luggage, they walked into what appeared to be a plaza circle. A fairly large amount of people were gathered around whatever was currently taking place. As Tatsumi, Edd, and Eddy looked up, they were met with a gruesome sight. Five people were nailed and chained on giant crosses in the center of the plaza circle. One of them appeared to still be struggling for their life. This was a public crucifixion.

"That's disturbing." Edd commented looking up in fear

"This ain't right." Eddy commented also looking up in fear

That's awful." Tatsumi commented his own take on the sight

"The current cabinet minister can do this without remorse. In the quarrel over succession, he cunningly obtained the title for the youngest heir. I won't end up like that." she said as she clenched her fist and held it to her chest. "I'm going to survive and be one of the winners."

"_A sly minister, huh? I wonder what he's like..." _Eddy, Tatsumi, Ed, and Edd thought to themselves. Meanwhile, in the capital building that loomed over all other structures in the capital, a young boy sat in a large gold and red velvet chair. By the looks of his attire and the scepter he held in his hand, it was clear to say that he was the emperor. Before him knelled a man. His purpose for being there had yet to be explained. Then, the child emperor spoke.

"Domestic Affairs Official Shoui, for speaking against my policies and delaying government affairs, you are sentenced to death by being drawn and quartered by bulls." he declared. By the looks of it, not only did the man known as Shoui feel uncomfortable about this, but the advisers that stood in the room alongside of him as well.

"This is what needs to be done, right, minister?" he asked looking to his right. Out from behind the chair walked a large, gray haired man in a fur coat. He appeared to be eating what looked like raw meat.

"Well done, my are such a wise ruler, my lord..." he said as he downed the last of the meat her was holding on to.

"Meat again? You sure eat a lot." the child emperor noted. This remark made the minister chuckle

"Well, it's best to eat it when it's fresh." he replied "Buono, buono."

Suddenly, the Domestic Affairs official looked up from his kneeling position and spoke to the emperor. "My lord! You're being tricked by the Minister! Please listen to your people!" he spoke

The emperor looked to his side and spoke to the Minister. "Hey, Minister, did you hear what he just said about you?" he asked

"I'm sure he's merely gone mad." the Minister replied with a smile. This reassured the kid emperors thoughts.

"Right! After all, you've never been wrong!" he said. Shoui was disgusted to hear this. The guards quickly restrained the man in case he decided to do anything.

"Sir Shoui..." the Minister began "This is our sad farewell."

"My Lord! At this rate, the empire's glorious 1,000-year history will be-" Shoui exclaimed as the Minister walked up to him with his face hidden behind his hands. He then peered at him through his fingers

"Sir Shoui, don't worry about that beautiful wife you're leaving behind. I'll take good care of her..." he said with a sinister smile "To the fullest extent." he added. And with that, the guards began dragging Shoui away to be executed

"Is...Is this really allowed to happen?" Shoui said aloud. "Every crime cries for punishment. Anyone, please...Please see that this demon gets what he deserves!"

* * *

After returning to HQ, Ed, Mine, Edd, Tatsumi, and Eddy were to report to the meeting hall.

"We've just got a new assignment." The boss started as she laid a picture of a man neither Tatsumi, nor the Eds have ever seen before, onto the table. "The target, Iokal, is distantly related to Minister Onest." she said stabbing the picture with a dagger. "He uses the Minister's name to kidnap woman and beat them to death. His five guards are getting their shares and are guilty as well. This is an extremely important mission. I'm sending in all of you!"

Soon, the entire Night Raid crew was running through the forest underneath the cover of the night sky. They had split up into multiple teams to set up positions around Iokals' mansion. Being her minions for the day, Tatsumi and the Eds were stuck with Mine and were to serve as her escort once she sniped the man dead. At their post, Tatsumi watched the entrance of the mansion through what appeared to be a scope piece.

"Yo, Tatsumi. Whatcha' see out there?" Eddy asked as he hid behind the bushes looking at the mansion with only his naked eyes.

"Then that's the mansion Iokal lives in..." Tatsumi responded as he zoomed in and focused the image while looking through the scope lenses. "It's huge."

"_No shit, Sherlock~_" Eddy thought to himself. He, or anyone for that matter, could clearly see that from the distance they were positioned at. If it were Ed looking through that scope piece, he would've taken it from him by now. Speaking of which, Ed and Edd were busy crouched next to Mine, watching as she was adjusting her weapon. It was the same massive gun that she had attempted to blast the four of them with just that morning.

"Hey." Tatsumi asked directing his question towards Mine

"What?" Mine simply responded as she lifter, locked, and loaded her gun. The clicking of the gun caught Eddys' attention

"Is that another of those Imperial Arms?" Tatsumi asked looking over towards her

"Yeah. Imperial Arm Pumpkin." Mine said as she went into her explanation of just how the contraption works. "The more of a pinch its user is in, the more its destructive power. though I'm never in a pinch."

The explanation itself caught Edds' attention. There is no way a weapon could ever operate like that. It was an inanimate object. Yet at the moment, he had no choice but to believe what Mine said. When this was all over, he wanted to study Pumpkin for himself. It intrigued him.

"Pardon me if you don't mind me asking, but how did you even come to constructing such an apparatus?" Edd asked

"Sock-head took the words outta my mouth." Eddy added. "How did you make that?"

"Imperial Arms are ancient super weapons. And currently, it's unclear how they were made." she answered flashing them a look of annoyance "You guys are really nosy, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Stick to the script." Eddy retorted as he and the rest of them focused their attention back on the mansion. Mine closed her left eye and held Pumpkin up, ready to be aimed.

"I shouldn't have any problem at this distance. As soon as he leaves his mansion, I'll shoot right through him." Mine said as she continued to focus her aim.

"All right! After you snipe him, our job is to be your escort." Tatsumi said as he watched her. The high spirit of the moment got Ed excited. "Leave it to me!" he shouted as Eddy covered his mouth with his hand and pushed his head against the ground.

"Shush, will you lumpy? Were trying to be sneaky here." Eddy whispered to him

"Hmph. I'm not expecting anything." Mine gloated as she placed her right index finger on the trigger. She took a deep breath before all went silent. No more chatter. No nothing. Mine was completely focused on watching the entrance of the mansion. The way she was blocking out all outside interference made it seem like Tatsumi and the Eds weren't even with her anymore. The sharp, keen look in her eye sent a shiver down Ed, and Eddy's back. Tatsumi and Edd were amazed at how hard she was concentrating.

"_Her concentration is amazing." _Tatsumi thought to himself. "_I can feel her drive from here."_

Edd had already managed to set aside Mines' amazing focus for the moment and looked in time to spot Iokal exiting his mansion through the entrance.

"He came out." Edd and Mine said at the same time. This caused Tatsumi to remember just why he had the scope lens in the first place and quickly put it back up to his right eye.

"Where?" he asked trying to get his view in focus. When he did, he noticed that Iokal had company with him.

"A lot of people who aren't our target came out, as well." Tatsumi noted

"And?" Mine asked. In the back of his mind, Eddy was thinking the same thing. But even he found discomfort in the situation at hand

"what do you mean, "and?"" Tatsumi asked looking at her "How are you going to shoot him?"

"Like so~" Ed chimed as he watched Iokal leaving through the mansion entrance in the distance

"It's irrelevant." Mine answered Tatsumi. She was clearly ready to just get this out of the way.

"Irrelevant? You don't mean you're going to involve innocent pe-" Tatsumi began asking before he was cut off by the firing of Mines' Pumpkin. Over at the top of the palace stairs, Mines' shot landed a clean hit straight through Iokals' skull as it sent him falling backwards with blood gushing out of the wound. Tatsumi, Eddy, and Edd gawked in amazement. Edd had known that Mine wasn't to be underestimated when it came to shooting, but he had never seen such accurate sniping.

"I'm a master sniper." Mine gloated as she withdrew her weapon and prepared to be escorted back to the others.

"Y-Yeah. Time to head b-back." Eddy stammered as he got up off the ground. Edd continued to keep his sights on the mansion for a few more seconds in case he missed anything. Sure enough, those few extra seconds of monitoring paid off. Edd spotted multiple guards exiting the Mansion and taking off into the forest fanning out and heading in their general direction. They needed to leave and regroup with the other Night Raid members, and they needed to do it now.

"The guards have been dispatched. We need to go now!" Edd said as he helped Ed up off the ground. Not a moment too soon, the five of them were gone from their post.

Meanwhile, the guards raced through the thick, night forest in search of the people responsible for Iokals' death.

"Find the person who killed Lord Iokal at once!" one of the guards commanded as he ran. "If they get away, the minister will kill us." he added giving them all the more reason to make haste

"They couldn't have gone far!" spoke another one of the guards as he ran through the night alongside of at least four other guards

As they came to a small clearing in the middle of the forest, they stopped dead in their tracks. A group of figures stood before them, and those figures were none other than the rest of Night Raid.

"Here they come." Leone said smiling as she stood out in front of all the other members of Night Raid cracking her knuckles. "This time, I'm gonna get wild!"

* * *

As Ed, Edd, Eddy, and Tatsumi were escorting Mine along a rugged dirt path through the dense trees in the dark of night, she spoke her frustration about how tough traveling along the road was.

"Ugh...This other route is really hard to traverse." she complained as she lifted a branch away from her face

"I wonder if all pursuit has been eliminated." Tatsumi asked as he trailed not too far behind her

"All the guards around here have been trained at Koukenji. It probably won't be that easy." Mine replied

"Kou- what?" Ed asked looking back at them as he served as to guard them the lead along the forest path

"Koukenji, the empire's top martial arts temple." Tatsumi answered him. "When you work for the minister, I guess they don't mess around with the guards." he added as they approached a good sized ledge in their path. Tatsumi got down on his hands and knees and was forced to serve as a stepping stool for Mine so she could get up

"Doing anything because of who they're related to..." Mine said as she climbed up on top of the ledge pressing off of Tatsumis' back for a boost causing him mild pain. "That pisses me off more than anything else."

As Eddward and Eddy tried to get up the ledge themselves, Ed grabbed their arms and hoisted them up and over with ease. Gotta love Eds strength when it isn't being used to bust holes through walls and lift buildings off of their foundations

Tatsumi took the opportunity to catch his breath a bit as Ed reached for him next.

"_I wonder what happened in her past._" Tatsumi thought to himself as Ed hoisted him up into the air single-handedly.

Almost as if she could read minds without looking at them, Mine stopped in her tracks.

"As a special treat, I'll tell you a little about my past." Mine said looking back at the four

"_She's gonna tell us anyway!"_ Tatsumi thought to himself in disbelief at the convenience

Mine glanced at them from the corner of her eye for half a second before speaking again.

"I'm from a land near the western border."

Back then, Mine was shorter than she was now. Her pink hair was long and messy as it fell past the raggedy old clothes she wore. She could remember being cornered against a wall trying to hug herself for comfort as people towered over her, barraging her with fruits and vegetables.

"And I'm half foreigner. In the city, I was really discriminated against. No one accepted me. It was a very tragic childhood. But The Revolutionary Army and the western foreigners are allies. Once the capital has a new ruler, borders will be opened and geography won't matter. Then the others won't have to go through what I did."

She raised her voice a bit. It probably wasn't the best thing to do at the moment given the circumstances they were in, but she did it to make her point none the less.

"I won't let anyone be discriminated against again!"

After hearing that, Tatsumi, Edd, and Eddy couldn't help but wonder in she had been so hard on the four of them because of this tragic childhood. Was this her way of coping? They could only wonder. Ed on the other hand saw through Mines' hardened shell. The hardened attitude only made him see her as another 'baby sister' in his eyes. In other words, he saw her as a friend no matter what.

As dark as the back story sounded, Mines' attitude suddenly changed dramatically.

"And so, I'll get rich from the reward from helping the revolution, and I'll live a life of luxury!" she fantasized as she laughed aloud from the thought. The fact that she just broke the moment where Tatsumi felt genuinely sorry for her pissed him off. The situation didn't make Edd feel comfortable, as he questioned in his mind just what somebody like Mine would do if granted such power. Eddy didn't see much of anything wrong with the idea either. In fact, he thought it was smart. A good way to make a buck. And that was putting it lightly. Ed simply started hollering and laughing simply because Mine was doing so.

* * *

As for the rest of the Night Raid Members,

One of the guards guard was down allowing for Leone to make a clear punch to the face. The force of the impact was so powerful that it shattered the mask and possibly skull of the person wearing it causing them to fall to the ground either mortally wounded, or dead. Either one was not good for the guard. Leone, Sheele, Bulat, Lubbock, and Akame had managed to make quick work of the guards, as their bodies could be seen lying on the ground motionless.

"I feel so refreshed and calm!" Leone cheered. Incredibly, her face matched her statement despite having pounded the life out of most of the guards.

"They were quite strong." Sheele said to herself as she wiped blood off of the blades of her weapon and slung her giant pair of scissors across her back

"It' strange..." Akame spoke as she examined the four guards bodies lying before them. "There should have been five guards."

"I didn't even get to kill one...So we're missing one." Lubbock pouted looking away with his hands in his jacket pockets. He didn't have to get his hands dirty this time around. He didn't mind that fact at all.

"Then you only get half the reward, Lubbock." Leone pointed out teasing him. This didn't fly by Lubbock the way he wanted to, and his reaction showed it.

"WHAT?!" he exclaimed

"Half a man..." Leone teased finding happiness in his displeasure

"That's not fair, Sis!" Lubbock pouted back, not cool with the idea of his share of the reward being half of what it was supposed to be. As the two members of Night Raid complained, Akame was in thought. It was running through her mind as to what could have possibly happened to that last guard. He shouldn't have escaped under her eye. It finally dawned upon her what might have happened to the fifth guard. While the five guards were to take down the members of Night Raid, the four that laid before them may have served as a distraction to allow the fifth one to search and destroy Mine and her group. She looked up at the starry night sky, worried about what might happen to them. She knew that Mine was capable of handling the guard, but that wasn't the case. Tatsumi and the Eds...they were escorting her.

"Tatsumi, Edd..." Akame said to herself hoping that the guard wasn't too much trouble for them to handle

* * *

As they continued to regroup with the others, Tatsumi and the others could see that they were approaching a clearing. A cherry blossom tree glowed in the moonlight in the center of the clearing. As they continued walking along the path towards the clearing, Tatsumi lifted a branch out of the way for Mine and passed it on to Eddward. Once Edd passed under it, he passed it onto Ed. Once Ed passed under it, he had forgotten to follow the process and let go of the branch allowing it to smack Eddy in the head causing him to fall backwards with a scream. Edd giggled at the accident, but rushed to help his comrade.

"This is where we're supposed to regroup." Mine stated. "Mission complete."

"It ain't complete until we report it!" Eddy remarked with small tears in his eyes, holding his head in pain.

Mine chuckled at that comment

"Did you get that from Akame?" Mine asked unaware of the presence behind them. Tatsumis' instincts kicked in and warned him to look behind the group. A man with yellow hair put in a braid leaped from out of the darkness. This was probably the missing guard, but he had stripped himself of his armor and mask.

"Look out!" Tatsumi shouted as he threw Mine to the side to avoid getting kicked. "He-" Mine managed to say before being pushed to her right. The guards kick missed her completely and instead connected with Ed, sending him flying into Edd and Tatsumi, who were knocked into each other and sent flying to the side of to the side from Eds body. If Eddy had been any taller than he was now, he would've also been knocked side from the altitude of the mans kick.

"Tatsumi!" Mine shouted as she watched him, along with Ed and Edd slide across the ground. "Wh-Why, you..." she said as she caught eye of the man who had now landed on the ground. Eddy flicked his wrist and materialized one of his saw blades before running over to Mine to protect her. Like he had said seconds ago, the mission wasn't over until he had reported in. They weren't allowed to slouch just yet.

"Not bad, if I do say so myself." the man said as he stayed in his landing position while the dust settled."

So you must be one of those kou-...kou-ken...nut?" Eddy asked looking back at Mine as he tried to remember the name of the martial arts temple

"Koukenji?" Mine replied looking back at him with an expression that lacked amusement.

"Yeah! That! Koukenji martial artist." Eddy finished

"Precisely. I was even a master..." He said trying to show of his experience. "Though that was ten years ago!"

"And now, you're just a lowly guard?" Mine taunted him as she quickly raised pumpkin "Looks like you've fallen from the ranks!" she shouted as she opened fire. She was joined by Eddy, who started tossing his saw blades at him. To their displeasure, he was dodging their attacks near effortlessly.

"I was a little bad, so they kicked me out." he said as he closed in on the two. Mine and Eddy fired a few more shots of their weapons before the man leaped up in the air before them. He smiled down at them rather menacingly as he was about to strike

"I'll have a little fun before I hand you over to the minister." he said grinning "Hope you're prepared!"

"You've got to be kidding." Mine said as she and Eddy looked up at him. He had evaded all of their attacks without breaking a sweat. Seemingly out of nowhere, a beam of electricity flew past the man causing him to turn around. The person who had fired the electricity at him was none other than Ed, and suddenly rushing into the fight from behind the man were Tatsumi, and Eddward with their sword and giant golden boomerang drawn. They both Went for an overhead strike as they leaped off the ground towards the ex-martial arts master, who put his arms up in defense. His strength was not only enough to block both hits at once, but actually catch both of their weapons in his hands. As the man looked past the razor sharp edges of their weapons, he noticed that only one was still in his field of vision. Edd had served as a distraction as Tatsumi dropped lower to the ground and tackled the man. He wrapped his arms around him to make sure he didn't slip away. This took the guard by surprise.

"Now, Mine! Shoot!" Tatsumi shouted looking towards the pink haired sniper.

"Tatsumi..." Mine started looking back at him before pulling out a handkerchief and wiping her eyes "You're risking your life to..."

"No, I'm not, you idiot!" Tatsumi shouted back at her. "You're a master sniper, right? I believe in you."

Those words made Mine freeze up. Tatsumi was putting all of his confidence on the line just for her. That was possibly the sweetest thing a guy had ever done for her. As she stared at him with thoughts racing through her mind, the guard began to hammer down on Tatsumis' back with punches trying to get him to let go.

"Why you...Damn it, let go..." he grunted as he continued to beat upon Tatsumi

"Hurry!" Tatsumi pleaded to Mine. Mine smiled and chuckled at Tatsumis' bravery.

"You stupid newbie." she said raising pumpkin to charge and fire. "All right, I'll do it!"

"Wait!" the guard said looking back at impending death. Adrenaline rushed through his body as he pounded harder and harder on Tatsumis' body trying desperately to escape. Ed, Edd, and Eddy watched as the tip of Pumpkin crackled with energy before 3-2-1...ka-boom! Mine fired Pumpkin and the shot passed straight through its target leaving a hole through the chest of the guard. The guard, with all the strength he had left, turned around towards Mine and the Eds and muttered his last words.

"You bastards..."

"But Kenny is still alive." Ed stated. His comment was ignored however as the guard continued to speak

"Don't think you'll get away...with killing one of the minister's relatives..." he finished before spitting up blood and collapsing onto the ground dead. He wasn't the only one on the ground however. Tatsumi was laying on his back panting heavily. Not only had his quick thinking almost risked his life, but he had taken quite a beating. Mine walked up and looked down at him as he tried catching his breath.

"You've got some guts."She complemented. "I guess I have no choice but to acknowledge you guys a little-" Mine said closing her eyes and looking away from Tatsumi blushing a bit. Praising people like him was out of character. Unfortunately, her haughtiness backfired as she didn't open her eyes fast enough to see Tatsumi reaching his hand out and flicking her forehead causing her to stumble backwards.

"That bullet was way too close..." Tatsumi complained as Mine held her forehead

"Look what you did to my head!" Tatsumi said pointing to a spot on his head. His hair had been singed by the blast. Thankfully, his hair was all that was singed

"Wh-what?!" Mine said rubbing hr forehead. The impact was enough to bring small tears to her eyes, but that was the least of her worries. "And I was just about to acknowledge you!" she argued.

"Shut up!" Tatsumi argued back "You're no master sniper. You aren't even competent!"

"What? Of course I am!" Mine retorted

"Masters don't call themselves 'masters', to begin with!" Tatsumi fumed

To be honest, either one of them was expecting for Double D to jump in and either stop the argument, or take a side. They hadn't noticed that Ed, Edd, and Eddy were already standing off to the side with the rest of the members of Night Raid, who had apparently gotten there only moments ago. They watched the sniper and swordsman bicker back and forth underneath the moonlit cherry blossom tree.

"Apparently, we didn't need to rush over here, after all." Leone said smiling with her right hand on her hip as she watched the conflict unfolding before her. Akame smiled a bit as she watched Mine and Tatsumi. Out of all the newcomers, Tatsumi seemed to have a connection with Mine. Albeit, it didn't look like a very good one right then, but she knew things would get better. The new recruits were definitely making things livelier.

As Ed stood there, he shivered a bit. He had a feeling something else was going to happen soon. Somewhere, there was evil afoot.

* * *

Under a full moon somewhere in the capital, a tall, man stood in a dark alleyway facing a wall. He appeared to be reading something, and that something was a wanted poster. A Night Raid wanted poster featuring Akame.

"Just like me...An Imperial Arm user, an assassin..." he said as he let loose a big, toothy smile. "Splendid...Splendid. So someone like her is running amok." he continued on to himself. At the entrance to the alleyway stood two of the capitals guards, decked in armor and armed. One of them was holding a gun, the other unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the tall, mysterious man before speaking.

"Hey, you!" he started "You look suspicious...Don't move!" the sword wielding guard demanded. In response, the mystery man turned his head to the side and looked back at them from the corner of his eye. Something was not right about this man. Within almost less than a second, the man had moved from in the alleyway, to behind the guards. He had managed to slice the heads off of both the guards effortlessly. Now that some of the streetlight was shed upon him, one could see some sort of device strapped to his forehead. It almost resembled an eye. He didn't even face the guards he had just killed. He simply began speaking again while keeping his back towards their bleeding bodies.

"It appears that the capital is a very comfortable place to live." He said aloud as the bodies fell to the ground and bled out from the exposed neck area. "There are so many people, there's no end to the number I can cut down! Splendid...Splendid..."

He then looked upwards towards the night sky. He had his work all planned out for him. It was time to pay Night Raids' Akame a visit...


End file.
